There are plenty of people across the NFL who do not care for Jeremy Shockey. He has a reputation for being a loud mouth and has been accused of being a lousy teammate. That doesn’t mean it was right when Warren Sapp accused him of being the person who ratted out the Saints for running a bounty program. Sapp had nothing to support his claim, which is why the NFL Network wound up reprimanding him for his tweet. On Wednesday, Shockey’s former coach Ron Rivera gave the tight end a strong endorsement.
“If you know Jeremy Shockey, you know that’s not Jeremy Shockey,” Rivera said at the NFL owners meetings according to the Charlotte Observer. “I know there was an insinuation that he had been the guy. But that’s not Jeremy’s makeup. That’s not who Jeremy Shockey is.
“Jeremy Shockey’s a guy that if there was something going on, that’s their business. I would be surprised, I really would. It wouldn’t hurt him in my eyes either way because, first of all, I think Jeremy Shockey’s a tremendous person. I think he’s also a very good football person – a football personality who understands this game.”
Sounds like somebody would welcome Shockey back with the Panthers next season. Rivera’s opinion of Shockey is the complete opposite of Amani Toomer’s, who recently called him a bad person and worse teammate. As for whether or not Sapp’s accusation will affect Shockey’s ability to find work, I doubt it. The general consensus seems to be that Warren was out of line, and any character concerns teams might have about Shockey were likely there to before he was accused of being a snitch.
