A lot of time has passed since Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora started feuding with one another during the lockout in 2011, but time has not healed any wounds in this particular case.
The public animosity began when LeSean McCoy tweeted that Umenyiora was soft, overrated and just the third-best defensive lineman on the Giants. Umenyiora responded by calling McCoy “she” and “Lady Gaga” before moving on to “Twitter gangster.” Things died down for a while, before Umenyiora reopened things by wishing McCoy a “Happy Mother’s Day” in May of this year.
In an interview with ESPN, via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, McCoy said that he wanted to respond to Umenyiora at the time but refrained because he was working on his contract extension and coach Andy Reid asked him not to say anything back to Umenyiora. McCoy got that deal done and now he’s decided to get things going again ahead of this week’s game against the Giants.
“Now that that’s over I can let you know how I really feel,” McCoy said. “Osi, to be honest, he is a good player. I think he thinks he’s better than what he really is. I think he’s a ballerina in a Giants uniform, but other than that that’s all I got to say about Osi.”
McCoy also had some words for anyone who thinks that this is just a little game between two players who really don’t have any hard feelings toward one another.
“I don’t know how he feels. He might think it’s a game, but I don’t play them type of games,” McCoy said. “So every time on the field I would say stuff to him like ‘You is a bum … You are the third best defensive lineman on the defense.’ Which I didn’t lie. Wait, I did lie. He’s the fourth now, so I actually did lie.”
Umenyiora responded without much bombast, but it doesn’t take much reading between the lines to see the dig at McCoy and the Eagles.
“I might be a ballerina in a Giants uniform,” Umenyiora said. “I’m lucky I got the contract. I’m lucky to be playing 10 years in the league, to have won two Super Bowls. All that is pure luck and I’m happy for him, I’m happy he got his contract and I’m happy everything is working out well for him in Philadelphia.”
McCoy’s got five more days to throw some more fuel on the fire before he and Umenyiora take the field on Sunday night.