This is a story about Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. trying to fight former teammate Jermaine Wiggins.
Here’s some background. Wiggins was a part of the New England Patriots’ first Super Bowl team in 2001. The fact that he grew up in East Boston, Mass. coupled with some of the big plays he made during New England’s postseason run has made him somewhat of a local hero. Wiggins has made regular appearances on 98.5 The Sports Hub and does some other media spots in the Boston area.
Wiggins and Smith were teammates with the Carolina Panthers in 2002 and 2003. During one of his recent media appearances, Wiggins called Smith a “bully” and spoke about Smith’s reputation for being hard on younger players and fighting teammates (remember this incident?). As you might expect, Smith did not appreciate it. So when he spotted Wiggins after Baltimore’s loss to the Pats last weekend, he supposedly went off on him.
Marc Bertrand of 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger and Mazz Show” told the story on Monday. You can read the entire account here. Scott Zolak, a former Patriots quarterback who calls Pats games for 98.5 The Sports Hub, was there to witness the altercation. He called into the “Felger and Mazz Show” to explain what he saw.
“So [Smith] sees Wiggy and he’s like ‘Yo, what’s up?!’” Zolak explained. “And Wiggy’s like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ And Smith is like, ‘No dude, what the bleep’s up?’ And Wiggy’s like, ‘Oh no, now you’re swearing in front of my kids.’ And he’s like, ‘You gotta step off.’ And then it starts getting nasty.
“And Steve is like, ‘You called me a bully! So what’s up with that? You know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna bleep you right now.’ And Wiggy’s like, ‘Man, you gotta stop in front of my kids.’”
Apparently things got heated after that. Zolak said Brandon LaFell, a former teammate and friend of Smith’s, stepped in to help diffuse the situation. Some Patriots security staffers also had to get involved. The entire description of the argument is worth reading.
If you’re surprised by any of this, you must not be at all familiar with Smith. He’s the definition of a competitor and an agitator. If you saw some of the comments he made before Saturday’s game, you can imagine how angry he was after the Ravens lost.
