Jets head coach Rex Ryan has no problem with cornerback Antonio Cromartie‘s expletive-laced comments about Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and Ryan won’t level any type of punishment on Cromartie, either.
“In this country, you’re allowed to have opinions and all that kind of stuff,” Ryan said Wednesday morning. “Obviously, as an organization, we respect Tom Brady. There’s no question about it. But hey, is there a dislike between us and Brady, and Brady against the Jets and all that? Of course there is. Am I going to punish Cromartie for saying something? No. I know one thing. We respect New England, but we don’t fear them. A comment like that is just the fact that they’re the enemy as we look at them this week.”
Brady helped knock Cromartie’s Chargers out of the playoffs in 2006 and 2007, and he’ll have the opportunity to do it a third time Sunday at Gillette Stadium. In the Patriots’ 45-3 beating of the Jets in Week 13, Brady threw two touchdown passes in Cromartie’s direction. So, obviously, Cromartie has plenty to be bitter about when Brady comes up in conversation.
Yet, despite the fact that Wednesday’s comments were more out of line than most, Ryan barely shrugged his shoulders.
“Trust me, they’re saying a lot worse about me and others here. Maybe, it just wasn’t printed,” Ryan said. “We can say what’s on our mind or whatever. I don’t say, ‘Whatever we do, don’t say this or don’t say that.’ We’re a transparent organization. We let our guys speak, and we don’t try to tell them what to say or what not to say.”
Ryan was asked a pointed follow-up question: If the Jets respect Brady and the Patriots the way they say they do, how in the world could he explain such degrading comments?
“We’re not apologizing for anything,” Ryan said. “Did we vote him to be the starting quarterback in the Pro Bowl? Yes, we did. Did we vote him to win the NFL Player of the Year? Yeah, we did, so there’s plenty of respect, but we don’t have to be all lovey-dovey and say that, ‘Oh, he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.’ We have a right to our opinion. A comment like that is no big deal. A guy makes a comment, big deal.”
