Reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Sheldon Richardson has recently become somewhat of a lightning-rod for the New York Jets as he’s managed to put together quite a collection of eye-opening quotes regarding both on and off-the-field issues.<\/p>\n
Following the controversial decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, a young black teenager in Ferguson, MO, just a few miles from Richardson’s hometown, he lashed out on twitter and referred to Wilson as a “pig”. \u00a0Richardson would later defend his statement in saying that he wasn’t addressing all police officers as one, specifically Wilson, who he felt was wrong in shooting Brown.<\/p>\n
Not long after the Wilson comments, when asked about fans rooting against the team in hopes of securing a higher draft pick\u00a0to select Heisman Trophy winning Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Richardson echoed the sentiments of Head Coach Rex Ryan who had earlier said “a real Jet\u00a0fan wants to win”. \u00a0“They’re not my fans” was his response when asked about the growing “suck for the duck” sentiment among some Jets fans.<\/p>\n
Then this week, the standout defender compared himself to All-World Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt. \u00a0While Richardson’s young career is off to a running start as he appears to have all the tools to be a force on defense for years to come, many would agree that as of right now, Watt is in a class all by himself.<\/p>\n
According to Metro’s Kristian Dyer, Richardson had the following to say regarding fans who have been calling for the ouster of much maligned General Manager, John Idzik. \u00a0\u201cI did not see the plane flying over but I heard about it. I don’t have anything to say. It’s Jets fans with too much money, they got nothing else better to do I guess,\u201d Richardson told Metro.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t call them fans, won’t call them fans. I don’t have anything to say about them.\u201d<\/p>\n