Former NFL star and current NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp found himself in hot water after calling Chicago Bears receiver Brandon Marshall a "retard" during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Friday.
“These kids that play the game today have no relevance for the past, have no conscious of what it is. I mean, Brandon Marshall talking about Shannon Sharpe, who is he to talk? He’s the first 100-catch receiver, back-to-back, retard," Sapp said. "What you just did in Denver for three years. You don’t know this? No, of course he doesn’t, because it’s not about Brandon Marshall. It ain’t about the past, it’s about me. It’s about personal success, pay me, and now I’ll think about being a team guy."
When Marshall heard about Sapp's comments, he responded by filming two videos of himself in his car ripping Sapp. He shared both videos on Twitter on Monday morning.
WATCH VIDEO ABOVE
Transcript via the Chicago-Tribune:
“Good morning, world,” Marshall said. “Listen, I got a very disturbing heads up on something Warren Sapp said. He called me ‘retarded.’ That’s really disappointing to hear that from an NFL legend, but I’m going to take this as a lesson. And I think we all can learn from this. Be very careful who you take advice from. You want to surround yourself with good people, Godly people. When I look at Warren Sapp, I can’t go to him and talk about finances because he filed for bankruptcy. I can’t go to him and talk about my marriage because he filed for divorce. I can’t go to him and talk about being a great father, because one day I’m going to have children, because he’s not active in his children’s life. The lesson that we all should learn here is surround yourself with good people and be careful who you take counsel from. I’m not saying he’s been there on my side giving me counsel. But that’s not a guy that I can go to. Football doesn’t make us. There’s more to life than just playing football. Make sure you have a great balance in your life and surround yourself with good people. And guys like Warren Sapp, I feel sorry for. So hopefully, one day he’ll change his life. We’ll pray for him. Instead of using words to destroy, he may use words to uplift.”
In the second video posted minutes later, Marshall talks about holding Sapp accountable.
Marshall later tweeted that Sapp emailed him.
Having been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2011, Marshall may have felt the sting of Sapp's ignorant words keenly. Aside from sharing his video rebukes, he also tweeted a link to his nonprofit organization, Project Borderline, which is devoted to raising awareness for Borderline Personality Disorder.
Hours after Marshall posted the videos, Sapp apologized in a letter sent to the Chicago Tribune
"I want to apologize to all those who I offended with my poor choice of words," Sapp said, via CBS Chicago. "I certainly meant no disrespect to those who have some type of disability or special needs."
Citing other missteps by Sapp, Brad Gagnon of Awful Announcing wonders if this will be the last straw for him at the NFL Network.
Of course, the NFL's willingness to accept mistakes on the field seems to know no bounds. Could it be the same at its official network?
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