It’s not too uncommon for NFL players to get upset over what is said about them in the media.
When Jimmy Kempski of Philly.com criticized Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Matt Barkley for his poor play in minicamp last week, though, he hardly expected what happened next.
Barkley has been splitting reps with backup Eagles quarterbacks Mark Sanchez and G.J. Kinne, and Kempski posted an article last Wednesday observing that the former USC signal-caller appeared to be lacking in arm strength.
Barkley became aware of Kempski’s criticism when the reporter posted the article on Reddit, and went straight to the source to voice his own opinion on the matter.
“Easy there Jimmy, you don’t know a thing about that route, the defensive coverage, technique of the wide receiver, the route he was actually running, let alone my maximum velocity arm strength,” Barkley wrote.
But Barkley didn’t stop there.
“We can play catch sometime if you want to figure out for yourself how hard I can throw it, just lemme know,” he added.
Barkley has never been shy about defending himself in the court of public opinion, but he took his response to a new level by calling out Kempski, who probably wasn’t expecting that to come from a brief minicamp observation.
To Kempski’s credit, he said he’d take the Eagles quarterback up on his challenge.
[tweet https://twitter.com/JimmyKempski/statuses/479741236128256000 align=’center’]
He might want to buy some gloves with extra padding.
h/t NJ.com
Photo via Twitter/@sportingnews
