Philadelphia Eagles: The Darius Slay situation proves Danny Green’s point

Darius Slay is unquestionably one of the Philadelphia Eagles‘ best players.

He’s a three-time Pro Bowler, a one-time All-Pro, and arguably the best cornerback the Eagles have had under contract since Asante Samuel, who retired in 2013 in case you didn’t know. Even in a down 2020 season, Slay still only allowed three touchdowns and 12.3 yards per catch on 90 targets.

If you want to knock Slay for allowing 851 yards, a 66 percent completion percentage to opposing receivers, or a 111.9 rating to opposing quarterbacks, that is 100 percent a valid critique, but attacking a member of the Eagles for temporarily retweeting an admittedly confusingly worded tweet? Is that really something to rip the veteran cornerback over with any sort of legitimate vigor?

Isn’t that just proving Danny Green’s point?

Darius Slay should pay the online Philadelphia Eagles hate no mind.

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While appearing on friend of the blog John Clarke’s podcast, Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Danny Green levied some pretty serious critiques against how fans in the City of Brotherly Love treat the player they root for.

Is this sort of critique new? Heavens no. Philly has received a disproportionate amount of hate for various fan interactions over the years, with some stories, like the infamous “Santa Claus incident” that I don’t feel lie retelling here, taking on a life of their own as a go-to low-ball burn.

Can Philly fans get a tad thorny, depending on the situation? My goodness, most definitely. As someone who runs a Philly sports blog, I can tell you firsthand that things can get downright rowdy in the comments section, but for the most part, fans around these parts are all passion and expect the same thing from their players, managers, and even media.

In case you somehow missed it, here’s Green’s quote about how Philly crowds could affect a player like Ben Simmons as per NBC Sports Philadelphia.

"“We’re the No. 1 team in the East, still playing well, and in some games they’ll boo us – that’s part of the culture here, part of their way of showing they love us – but with a guy like Ben, and other guys, I think they need to stick behind them and stick by them as long as they can, until the horn blows. And even then, he’s here. He’s given so much to the organization and the city, on and off the court, that he deserves that respect and that support.”"

While some, like yours truly, didn’t take too much offense to Green’s comments, as Philly does have a very specific style that a player who most recently spent time in LA, Toronto, and San Antonio may not quite get, others became incredibly upset with the soon to be free agent for his hot take or, in their opinion, misrepresentation of the facts.

“This is the city that cheered on Markelle Fultz for taking a shot like a first grader’s parents at a tee-ball game; how dare you call Philly fans overly critical?”

Was Green correct about his assertion? Do Philly fans pile onto players they don’t particularly fancy, even if they play for their favorite team? Well, as it turns out, we got an actual example of such a situation on the same very day, all thanks to our pal Darius Slay.

Didn’t see that one either? Welp, here ya go:

Now, objectively speaking, Dan Orlovsky’s big, bold quote is poorly worded. If he simply said, “Jalen Hurts will never be as good as Carson Wentz,” or that “Jalen Hurts’ ceiling is Carson Wentz’s floor” or something similar, I highly doubt Slay does anything more than laugh it off or share it in the GC. Even when you re-read the quote that “Get Up!” shared in their initial post, which is like the third thing your eye goes to on a cellphone screen, the context might not initially be clear on first read.

If Slay genuinely misread the quote, as he claimed in the comments once people pointed it out, I have no reason to believe this was some sort of elaborate scheme to slander Hurts or stir up unnecessary trouble for no reason on an unsuspecting Thursday evening.

*sigh* the irony of this situation is just so ripe.

To paraphrase Danny Green, athletes aren’t zoo animals. They get upset when they aren’t performing at their best, they get bummed out when fans boo them on a down evening, and *spoiler alert* sometimes they accidentally retweet something without reading it first. If such an error is enough to draw the ire of the Philadelphia Eagles’ fanbase, maybe Darius Slay will stop hosting Warzone matches and counting down the days until his contract expires in 2023.