Joey Bosa managed to stay tight-lipped about his frustration with NFL referees immediately after the Chargers’ season-ending loss Saturday night.
But two days after Los Angeles was eliminated from the playoffs by the Jacksonville Jaguars, the star pass-rusher let it fly and then some.
Bosa, who drew two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties at TIAA Bank Field, became irate with officials as the Chargers watched their commanding lead over the Jaguars slip away. The seven-year veteran’s irritation was highlighted by a sideline scene in which he slammed his helmet to the ground not once, but twice.
The four-time Pro Bowl selection addressed his outbursts Monday, and after taking some accountability, he drifted into a full-on rant about refs.
“I do really, really want to say some things,” Bosa told reporters, per ESPN. “I need to be more accountable for my actions, obviously, but it’s a heated game and I’m hurting out there, I’m playing on half a leg, I’m getting dragged to the ground, whatever, could hurt me along with screwing our team, and yeah, maybe some of ’em weren’t as blatant as I thought, but I don’t know. I think there just needs to be more accountability. I mean, if I say something to them I get a $40,000 fine but if they blow a call that ruins an entire team’s season they get to — they’ll probably be back in the locker room after the game like, ‘Haha, got that (expletive), oh yeah, got him 15 yards, what a loser.’
“I guarantee it, that’s what they’re (expletive) talking like in the back. Whatever power trip. I’m sick of those (expletive) people.”
Bosa as of Tuesday morning had not been punished by the league for his unsportsmanlike conduct penalties or remarks about officials. That figures to change in the near future.
