Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson responded to criticism from a former star on Friday.
Dickerson responded to LeSean McCoy, who has been critical of Dickerson for not supporting Saquon Barkley’s bid for the single-season rushing record. Dickerson doubled down on his comments and defended his stance while claiming he had been misrepresented.
“I love running backs, I’m a running back. My favorite player was OJ Simpson. I’ve always said OJ did it in 14 games, I did it in 15, one extra game. I would never hate on another running back. That’s not me. Know your history about running backs,” Dickerson said. “If (Barkley) broke the record, brother, I ain’t going to lose any sleep over that, but am I cheering for someone to break my record? No, I don’t think anybody does. If you have a record and you want somebody to break it, that’s on you. I’m different, I’m old school. You know how hard it is to get a record? Very hard.
“I’m a Saquon Barkley fan. I never thought he reached his full potential in New York. I’m glad to see him in Philadelphia. I’m glad to see him get 2,000 yards. So don’t say I’m hating on running backs. If you know your history, look up what I said about OJ. OJ had it in 14, I did it in 15. That’s what I think of the running back position.”
Clearing up the misrepresentation of my views on Saquon and the rushing title… pic.twitter.com/CvJPIgUcQk
— Eric Dickerson (@EricDickerson) January 2, 2025
Dickerson has taken some heat for vocally hoping Barkley falls short of his single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, which he set in 1984. He appears likely to get his wish, with the Eagles planning to rest Barkley for Week 18.
There are certainly some who root for players to break their old records. Dickerson is not one of them, and he is not apologizing for it.
