Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne wasn’t a fan of the postgame “squirrel” dance Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis did on the field at the end of last Sunday’s Wild Card game, calling it “disrespectful” during a radio interview this week.
Lewis responded to Wayne on Tuesday and, to no surprise, had a decidedly different take. Lewis said the dance had nothing to do with the Colts, but was about “honoring my team and honoring my city” after what will be the final home game of Lewis’ career unless he reverses course on retirement.
“That was about capping off a heck of a legacy of 17 years. When he was in Pop Warner playing football, I was in Baltimore. To salute my city that way, I guess the trot around the field was disrespectful too. No. It wasn’t even about them. The game was over,” Lewis said, via the team’s website. “I didn’t go towards their sideline or make no big issue of that because I’ve never been that type of player. But [it was] to salute my city, knowing that people love to see that.”
That’s certainly the way the dance came across on Sunday afternoon, although one can understand why a player from the losing team might have a different read on it. As Wayne said, they were celebrating Lewis all day long and that was one final moment for a player who has been the face of the Ravens franchise since there has been a Ravens franchise.