Darrelle Revis, a three-time All-Pro cornerback, ripped Bill Belichick in an interview in March and doesn’t regret a word. A couple of months ago, he called Belichick a “jerk” and stayed true to his word on Thursday.
When he met with reporters at New York Jets media session, he lashed out and said he doesn’t like both head coach Belichick and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.
“I gave my honest opinion,” Revis said via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. ”You guys know me very well. This isn’t the first time me speaking what I need to speak about something. I talked about the Randy Moss stuff … It’s just how I felt. That’s how I feel. I feel that people let him slide when he says his smart remarks (on) certain things. He says comments about us like he never coached here. He did. That’s just how I felt. So they told me to sum it up. I gave one word. He can take it how he wants. He can say (whatever) he wants to say back.”
“Even if he says something back,” Revis added. “I’m not going to get into a jawing (match) with him. I said what I had to say. He still has to coach and I still have to go out there and play.”
Photo Credit: New YorkJets.com
The Jets cornerback reiterated months later and has fueled a hostile rivalry more than ever. Revis has divulged he does respect Belichick, but he was not too pleased of the comments made twice last season.
“I have respect for him. Winning is winning,” Revis said. “But sometimes things are disrespectful. When you say certain comments about the Jets, some stuff is disrespectful. It’s okay to have a rivalry. It’s okay to compete. But when it gets personal, you’re getting disrespectful. I didn’t start this battle. The smart remarks sometimes he says are ignorant. It’s ignorant to this organization.”
Initially disgusted after hearing the audio with Belichick mocking the Jets, he was irritated by the unnecessary remarks. Despite venting his rage, hyping a full-blown rivalry, especially during this offseason, Revis was classy and respectful while speaking to the media about the Patriots.
“I don’t know … Talking about the best defense … they can suck my–… All that stuff. That’s just ignorant. Why go there? You won fair and square. Hey, we shook your hand after the game. We’ll see you in New England or wherever in the playoffs, okay. But when you start saying stuff like that … no … it gets too personal. You don’t have to say that. … Did anybody else say anything like that? No … not from our side. Bart (Scott) said his thing … “Can’t Wait” thing. But he still didn’t disrespect. He just said that they feel like they’re better than us. That’s okay. It’s personal. It’s disrespectful.”
When it was pointed that teammate Antonio Cromartie referred to Tom Brady as an “a–hole,” Revis indicated that he feels that was actually an accurate assessment of the personality of Tom Brady.
“That’s how he acts,” Revis said. “He wants to throw a touchdown and point at our sideline. That’s disrespect, man. That’s not sportsmanship.”
