Toggle Menu

The Chiefs’ Eric Winston Goes Off on Fans Who Cheered an Injury

The KC Chiefs offensive lineman says to fans, “We’re not gladiators. This is not the Roman Coliseum.”

Dave Zirin

October 9, 2012

Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Eric Winston went off on his hometown fans after last Sunday’s game in an epic rant. He ripped the Kansas City fans for cheering when Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Winston attacks not only the fans but also the media. He speaks about understanding the fact that he has shortened his own life by playing this game, but that gives fans no right to act like Matt Cassel or any of them are anything less than human beings. As Winston says, “We’re not gladiators. This is not the Roman Coliseum.” This really needs to be seen to be believed: another athlete asserting his own humanity and telling fans, “Game over.

For another, more concise rant from a football player, read Dave Zirin on “The Smartest—or Dumbest Tweet an Athlete Ever Sent.”

Dave ZirinTwitterDave Zirin is the sports editor at The Nation. He is the author of 11 books on the politics of sports. He is also the coproducer and writer of the new documentary Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL.


Latest from the nation