Ray Lewis made headlines this week when he criticized Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco for not being passionate about the game of football, and another former player who was teammates with both Lewis and Flacco feels the retired linebacker stepped out of line.
Bart Scott, who was with the Ravens during Flacco’s rookie season in 2008, unloaded on Lewis during a chat with Gio and Jones on CBS Sports Radio Friday morning.
“How many times are they going to keep letting Ray Lewis off the hook?” Scott said. “He already dissed Ray Rice when Ray Rice went through his situation. Now he’s dissing Flacco?Come on, man. You got that ring on your finger because of Flacco. That’s what I don’t like. You’re either with me or your not. … That’s brother-on-brother crime right there. (Lewis is) supposed to be better than that. He’s supposed to be from the old school. You never come out publicly on one of your boys like that.”
Flacco has always taken some heat for being a “boring” guy who doesn’t seem to get too high or too low, but Scott insists that does not make him any less of a teammate.
“Joe Flacco was a great teammate, a great rookie. … If you got an issue with how his leadership skills are and all that, you go talk to him,” Scott said. “That’s what real men do.”
As for why Lewis felt the need to take a shot at Flacco, Scott said former players often feel pressured to “make a splash” when they get jobs as analysts.
“This is what happens man. You get on the other side, you got to say something,” he said. “People put pressure on you to make a splash.”
You can read Lewis’ full comments about Flacco here.
As we mentioned previously, Lewis and Flacco never really seemed to see eye-to-eye. They couldn’t be more opposite from an enthusiasm standpoint, which is why Flacco once admitted he didn’t understand most of Lewis’ fiery speeches. Still, I agree with Scott on this. It’s never a good look to bash a former teammate who helped you win a Super Bowl.
