Rex Ryan’s pointed criticism of Amari Cooper didn’t sit well with Devin McCourty.
Ryan, the NFL coach-turned-ESPN analyst, blasted Cooper last week on “Get Up!,” calling the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver a “turd” who “doesn’t love football.”
Speaking Sunday night on his “Double Coverage” podcast, McCourty decried those comments as a ratings ploy — and an unnecessary one, at that.
“I just wanted to call ESPN and say, ‘ESPN, listen. You have the Jordan documentary (the highly anticipated “The Last Dance,” which was moved up from June to April with the NBA season suspended) coming out. You don’t need to air Rex Ryan,’ ” the New England Patriots safety said.
“Like, you don’t need that. Ratings are going to go through the roof. When you drop the Jordan doc, it’s a wrap. As soon as Rex Ryan said that, (ESPN) should have cut it, should have never had it on air. Whatever (they) had to do, just cut it. Throw it in the trash. The Jordan doc is going to drop. We don’t need any extra hits for nonsense.”
Jason McCourty also believed Ryan’s comments crossed a line.
“To me, the crazy thing was after he said it, ‘Get Up!’ posted it on Twitter, ESPN retweeted it on Twitter,” the Patriots cornerback said on the podcast. “Everybody was all-in on this ‘turd’ comment. I guess, at the same time, it’s all about entertainment — how can we get more viewers, how can we get people to click this, click that? But at what point in the game can you call somebody a turd? Whether he’s a good player or not a good player, it was just bad ball all around.”
Fellow Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore also defended Cooper with a tweet Friday.
Ryan later issued an on-air apology to Cooper.
“I can’t believe I said that, used that word,” the former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach said on “SportsCenter.” “Obviously, it was a poor choice by me to say what I said about Amari.”
