Jerry Rice played with an edge.
After the AFC Championship game, the New England Patriots were under fire for allegedly deflating several of the footballs used during the game in order to gain a competitive advantage. Many in the media went on the offensive, going as far as to discredit the career accomplishments of quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick. In an interview with Jim Rome, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice was one of those who voiced his opinion stating that he feels there should be an asterisk next to all of the Patriots Super Bowl trophies.
‘I’m going to be point blank, I feel like it’s cheating,” Rice told Rome on January 22. “Because you have an edge up on your opponent and its unfortunate that it happened. I’m not saying the outcome of the game would have been different or anything like that because they got beat 45-7, but they still had an edge.”
Ironically enough, a video published by ESPN exactly one day before the AFC Championship showcased Rice explaining one of his tactics for gaining an advantage. In the piece, titled “The Evolution Of Gloves”, Rice, who is widely considered the greatest wide receiver of all time, told host Jim Trotter that he used to spray a sticky adhesive on his gloves called “Stickum” to make it easier for him to catch passes.
“I know this might be a little illegal, guys, but you put a little spray, a little stickum on them, to make sure that texture is a little sticky,”
Though many players used Stickum in the past, the NFL banned the adhesive in 1981, which led to players using gloves on the field. Rice’s first year in the NFL was in 1985. Which means he knowingly violated league rules to gain an advantage. Jerry Rice won four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and holds the majority of the receiving records in the league, not too mention the record for most career touchdowns in NFL history with 208. It will be interesting to see how things play out.
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- Raiders Cornerback Lester Hayes Applying Stickum
Another case of the pot calling the kettle black – @Rocko_CNK
