Jerod Mayo Addresses Rumor Of Patriots Locker Room ‘Mutiny’
If there is any locker room dysfunction, that's news to Mayo
Speculation ran rampant about the Patriots locker room this week, and Jerod Mayo tried his best to quell the negativity.
Evan Lazar of Patriots.com went on a rant on the “Catch 22” podcast Thursday. During the rant, he let slip that the New England locker room was “teetering on mutiny.” Lazar later admitted he “got a little carried away” by that comment and jokingly blamed 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Alex Barth for bringing it out of him.
However, the Patriots took down the YouTube version of the podcast and the quote about a possible “mutiny” was edited out of the audio version. That ended up creating a “Streisand effect” where the act of taking down the podcast had people wondering if what Lazar said was true.
Mayo addressed the comment Friday.
“My focus is definitely on the Dolphins, 100%, and the guys in the locker room,” Mayo told reporters, per a team-provided video. “I haven’t heard that. That’s journalism for you. … Like I said, I haven’t heard that. I don’t pay attention to that stuff. You got to ask him.”
It was noted to Mayo that while Lazar is a journalist, he also is a Patriots employee who made his “mutiny” comment on a team podcast. It’s unknown how much Mayo is aware of everything that happens around One Patriot Place, but he did admit there were some growing pains the team was going through.
“It’s of course frustrating when you’re not winning. The guys put a lot of work in, and everyone wants to try to find a solution right now. We’re going through this transition. People are definitely frustrated, and that’s a totally human response. I feel pretty good about where we’re going. I used the analogy this morning, but it’s almost like we’re flying through the clouds and you have to use the instruments until we get clear skies. When I took this job, I knew the lumps would come. It’s part of the transition.”
While Lazar might have overblown the vibe of the Patriots locker room. Jahlani Tavai played it down. But Davon Godchaux calling out his teammates did hint that there might have been some tension with how poorly the team played in four weeks. That all could change or get worse depending on how this Sunday’s matchup against the Dolphins goes.
