Former Jets and Bills coach Rex Ryan made waves last week when he called Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper a “turd” during an appearance on ESPN and the comment reached a wider audience when the network promoted the comment on social media.
Ryan apologized for using that term after a widespread negative reaction and that reaction continued on the podcast hosted by Patriots defensive backs Devin and Jason McCourty. Devin McCourty said to ESPN that “you don’t need to air Rex Ryan” in order to get ratings because they’re about to air a highly anticipated multi-part documentary about Michael Jordan.
His brother criticized the network for amplifying what Ryan said.
“To me, the crazy thing was after he said it, ‘Get Up!’ posted it on Twitter, ESPN retweeted it on Twitter,” Jason McCourty said, via WEEI.com. “Everybody was all-in on this ‘turd’ comment. I guess, at the same time, it’s all about entertainment -- how can we get more viewers, how can we get people to click this, click that? But at what point in the game can you call somebody a turd? Whether he’s a good player or not a good player, it was just bad ball all around.”
Cooper has not had any public response to Ryan’s comment.