It’s been a tense week in Denver, Colorado. The Denver Broncos appear to be ready to move on from quarterback Russell Wilson. Although the team sold the farm for the former Super Bowl Champion, and then backed the Brinks truck up, it just hasn’t worked out. That being said, head coach Sean Payton and the Broncos haven’t really helped the situation.
More details have emerged throughout the week about the turbulence between Wilson, Payton, and the Broncos. And as the week as trudged on, the voices and the criticism has grown louder. ESPN’s Ryan Clark, in particular, emerged with strong words for the way Payton has handled things. The hostility involved caused Clark to suggest that Payton has behaved as a “thug” since arriving in Denver.
Word apparently got to Payton, who addressed the media on Friday. According to Chris Thomasson, it was a snippy Payton on hand.
Thomasson wrote that Payton “said it’s ‘part of the deal’ the criticism he faces. He ended press conference by thanking media for wishing him Happy Birthday even though media didn’t.”
Denver’s Andrew Mason later provided a video of the tense interaction.
There are probably much better ways to handle this situation than all this. And the way that Payton is moving in comparison to Wilson, who hung in there and answered questions on Friday, is noticeably stark. But, if optics were the concern here, then this situation probably wouldn’t unfold how it has unfolded.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022