The McCourty brothers weren’t fond of how ESPN handled Rex Ryan’s outburst toward Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Ryan, 57, caused a stir last week when he criticized the Cowboys’ decision to give Cooper a five-year, $100 million contract extension earlier this offseason before referring to the four-time Pro Bowler as a “turd” during an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up!”
The comments gained even more traction after ESPN promoted a clip of the rant on several social media accounts. Devin and Jason McCourty weren’t fans of that.
“To me, the crazy thing was after he said it, ‘Get Up!’ posted it on Twitter, ESPN retweeted it on Twitter,” Jason McCourty said on the twins’ “Double Coverage” podcast, via WEEI.com. “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.”
Devin McCourty also addressed ESPN, saying they “don’t need to air Rex Ryan” for ratings because they’re about to release a multi-part documentary about Michael Jordan.
"[Amari Cooper] is the biggest disappearing act in the National Football League. … I wouldn't have paid this turd."
—Rex Ryan pic.twitter.com/A8gzRJqBnD
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 3, 2020
Ryan ended up issuing an apology in response to the backlash, adding that he hopes Cooper accepts his apology.
“I can’t believe I said that, used that word,” he said on SportsCenter. “Obviously it was a poor choice by me to say what I said about Amari. Anybody who knows me — look, quite honestly, I think the world of every player and have a great deal of respect for every single player in the National Football League, including Amari Cooper.”
Cooper, 25, hasn’t publicly responded to Ryan’s comments.
