Maurkice Pouncey and his brother, Mike, both have played with wide receiver Mike Wallace. According to Maurkice, they didn’t exactly enjoy their experiences.
The Pittsburgh Steelers center and Miami Dolphins center recently sat down for an interview with CBS Miami to discuss Wallace, who was traded from the Dolphins to the Minnesota Vikings last week.
Maurkice did not mince words.
“First of all, in my opinion he’s a coward,” he told CBS Miami. “I never want a guy on my team like that, man, to walk out on your band of brothers.”
Neither the interviewer nor Pouncey mentioned Wallace by name, but it appears Maurkice was referencing Week 17 of the 2014 season, when the receiver reportedly pulled himself out of the game after coach Joe Philbin told him to go back in.
Maurkice was teammates with Wallace for three seasons from 2010 to 2012 on the Steelers. Mike, who played with Wallace last season in Miami, was a bit more diplomatic but appeared to agree with his brother on the issue.
“Obviously our organization felt the way about some guys,” he said. “They got those guys out of our football team, and I think it was the right move for everybody.”
Wallace quickly got wind of the brothers’ comments and wasted no time responding via Twitter.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Wallace17_daKid/status/577933629172551680 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/Wallace17_daKid/status/577934057993977856 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/Wallace17_daKid/status/577934375037247488 align=’center’]
Wallace caught 67 passes for 862 yards in 2014 and hauled in 10 touchdowns, his highest total since 2010.
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
