Connect with us
Jim Cutler Demos

Sports Online

Chris Long: Marcellus Wiley’s Comments Are Why Players Suffer Silently

“The point of this is avoiding the next thing we didn’t see. If everyone was talking like Marcellus Wiley, nobody would be talking about this stuff.”

Ricky Keeler

Published

on

Last week, one of the main topics in the NFL was players dealing with mental health issues. On his show, Speak For Yourself, Marcellus Wiley responded to Lane Johnson’s decision to retire and Calvin Ridley stepping away from the game for mental health reasons by saying the NFL isn’t for people who are physically or mentally weak. 

Chris Long played with Lane Johnson in Philadelphia in 2017 and 2018 and responded back to Wiley with a tweet by defending his teammate as Long took issue with the way that mental health and mental weakness was combined. 

Chris Long decided to take time on his Friday podcast, Green Light With Chris Long, to address Wiley publicly because according to Long, Wiley’s words “made [his] blood boil.” 

As Long continues to try to raise awareness about of mental health issues, he hopes that not everyone ends up talking like Wiley. He said it will only hurt the situation. 

“The point of this is avoiding the next thing we didn’t see. If everyone was talking like Marcellus Wiley, nobody would be talking about this stuff. Then, we would have more guys who struggle silently and then snap. That’s what we are trying to avoid. He was teammates with Junior Seau, which is part of the thing which respectfully I did not get when I heard that.”

Nothing Marcellus Wiley said indicated that he knew specifics of either Lane Johnson’s or Calvin Ridley’s struggles. According to Chris Long, speaking about these issues without an informed point of view does not help.

“I think when it comes to these situations, the point that we are missing here, some of us, is I don’t think it’s necessary that you give guys or girls gold medals when they talk about this shit, but you have to just respect their mental health. That’s literally it. If you don’t know anything about their situation, maybe just respect it.” 

Long said that Wiley was welcome to come on the show and further talk about his comments. He thought about sending him a direct message but decided not to because Wiley didn’t direct message Johnson on Twitter.

“I totally respect what that show’s about. You got to do your numbers, you got to get your clicks, and sometimes you got to go to work and say some disingenuous shit, I get that. But, when it crosses over and it touches someone personally that’s in the business that you are commenting on, people are not going to respond well to it…Sometimes, it’s ok to be pissed off at some dumb s**t you heard on the internet. Doesn’t mean I don’t respect Marcellus or like him…Just give these guys their respect right now and the next guys won’t have to struggle quietly.” 

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Sports Online

Joe Buck Misses Calling Baseball But Says He’s Already Called it for “A Lifetime”

“People go, ‘Do you miss calling baseball?’ — I did it for 35 years, that is a lifetime in broadcasting…I feel like I put my time in.”

Avatar photo

Published

on

Picture of Joe Buck
Credit: Richard Shotwell AP

Longtime sports broadcaster Joe Buck gave up calling baseball when he made the switch to ESPN and, while he says he misses the sport, he’s called 35 years’ worth of the sport. On the latest edition of Nothing Left Unsaid with Tim Green, Green asks his former broadcast partner about the lack of baseball in his life. While Buck says he misses parts of baseball, he doesn’t miss all of it.

“People go, ‘Do you miss calling baseball?’ — I did it for 35 years, that is a lifetime in broadcasting…I feel like I put my time in. I did 24 World Series — that’s a lot, 24 more than I ever expected to do on national television. What I do miss is calling the game for the home crowd. I do miss the local stuff, where you go into the booth, and you’re the Cardinal announcer, and when the Cardinals win, ‘Yay,’ and when the Cardinals lose, ‘Boo.’ When you do the network stuff, it’s like death by 1000 cuts. It’s, ‘you hate my team, screw you,’ and it gets in your head and it takes a little bit of the fun out of it…I don’t miss the stress that comes with all that, but I do miss calling baseball for [a local team]…You show up, you’re not just there for an organization, but for their fans, and you’re kind of rooting along with them. That’s fun. And so, I miss that, but as far as the national stuff, I don’t miss a lot of that.”

Buck reiterated points he made months ago on 810 WHB with Jason Anderson. “I miss doing local baseball. I miss putting on a headset and being the eyes and ears of Cardinal fans, Royal fans, Rangers fans, whatever,” Buck said back then. “That’s more fun than being Switzerland and getting all the junk that comes with it.”

He stopped calling baseball when he and longtime football partner Troy Aikman moved from FOX to ESPN to call Monday Night Football. While he said publicly that he would miss calling the World Series, he also said the 2022 World Series would have been his last anyway. Buck says he may one day feel compelled to call baseball again, though, saying, “I’ve never said that before, but I just feel like I’m 53, basically 54, [and] I think it’s too early to say nevers at this point in my life. I think at some point, I’ll get the itch again.”

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

Sports Online

Former Red Sox Pitcher Jonathan Papelbon Joins Roster of ‘Foul Territory’ Hosts

“I am joining the Foul Territory podcast full-time, no more guest spots…I’m coming in and I can’t wait to pop a bottle on this year’s baseball season.

Avatar photo

Published

on

The already-stacked roster on Foul Territory just got its closer. Jonathan Papelbon, formerly of the Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, and Philadelphia Phillies, announced today that he was joining fellow former All-Stars A.J. Pierzynski, Todd Frazier, Adam Jones, Lorenzo Cain, Brock Holt and Jason Kipnis on the show.

The podcast also features former MLB Network host Scott Braun and former 11-year MLB catcher Erik Kratz.

“I am joining the Foul Territory podcast full-time, no more guest spots,” Papelbon said in a video posted to his X account. “Whether it’s a big Ohtani gambling scandal or me giving you baseball gambling winners…I’m coming in, no bulls—-, real talk, and I can’t wait to pop a bottle on this year’s baseball season.”

Papelbon has been a contributor to the show in the past as a guest but will now join in an official capacity. He has also contributed to linear and digital content for NESN since 2021 and will reportedly head to the booth this year.

The former closer will join Alanna Rizzo on the Foul Territory network, who was brought on just a week ago to co-host the podcast’s live program, Fair Territory, with baseball insider Ken Rosenthal.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

Sports Online

Sage Steele Debuts Episode 1 of ‘The Sage Steele Show’ Through Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios

“The Sage Steele Show” is the first show on Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios podcast network and episode one features UFC CEO and President Dana White.

Avatar photo

Published

on

Sage Steele
Courtesy: SiriusXM

Sage Steele is back in the sports media space with her own YouTube show, The Sage Steele Show. It comes courtesy of Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios and features UFC CEO and president Dana White in Episode 1.

Steele announced the move via her X account, saying that she was, “THRILLED to announce [her] new show! Genuine convos with fearless people who are unafraid to tell their stories & speak their truths in this crazy world!”

Steele left ESPN after 16 years and one First Amendment lawsuit, after claiming the company and her colleagues wanted to suppress her rights to free speech after making public comments about COVID-19 and former President Barack Obama. Steele says she lived in fear during her last few years at the company because of her beliefs and the potential clashes they would have with her colleagues. She made appearances on other programs in the time since her ESPN departure but now finally has a new home.

Steele’s show is the first on Bill Maher’s new Club Random Studios podcast network. She will join other hosts like Billy Corgan and Fred Durst with shows on the network. According to Variety, Club Random will also partner with Kevin Garnett on his KG Certified podcast and develop new shows in-house.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Advertisement

Upcoming Events

Barrett Media Writers

Copyright © 2024 Barrett Media.