Ex-NFL WR bashes hazing tradition of ‘rookie dinner’
Feb 24, 2018; College Park, MD, USA; Torrey Smith a former Maryland Terrapin speaks during a press conference at XFINITY Center before the game against the Michigan Wolverines. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL has a tradition of veterans forcing rookies to pay exorbitant amounts of money at team dinners, and former wide receiver Torrey Smith wants to end the practice altogether.
On Tuesday, Smith railed against the tradition via social media. He credited former wide receiver and teammate Anquan Boldin for protecting him from the practice during Smith’s rookie season in 2011.
“Rookie dinners are BS!” Smith wrote. “I’m glad I had an OG that realized teaching me to blow money is STUPID. It does not prove you belong on a team. Shout out to @AnquanBoldin! Dudes come into the league with no financial literacy and real problems but folks think 50k dinners are cool! NAH!”
Rookie dinners are BS! I’m glad I had an OG that realized teaching me to blow money is STUPID! It does not prove you belong on a team. Shout out to @AnquanBoldin !
Dudes come into the league with no financial literacy and real problems but folks think 50k dinners are cool! NAH!
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) June 21, 2022
Smith’s tweet came not long after New York Jets rookie receiver Garrett Wilson’s appearance on “The Pivot Podcast.” Wilson expressed excitement about taking all of the receivers out for dinner, but the show’s hosts quickly shared why that wasn’t something to look forward to. One of the hosts, Fred Taylor, warned Wilson that his teammates could run up a tab in the $75,000 range.
https://twitter.com/FredTaylorMade/status/1537883154630840325
For Wilson’s sake, he better hope that his bill will be closer to the $50,000 total mentioned in Smith’s tweet.
