Report: Bills' Jim Schwartz didn't ask to be carried off field at Detroit
Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has come under scrutiny for his celebration following last Sunday's win in Detroit. Two Bills players picked Schwartz up and carried him on the field as Schwartz, the former head coach of the Lions, triumphantly raised his arm in the air.
On Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Caplan reported that Schwartz never asked anyone to carry him off the field.
One of the players who lifted Schwartz, linebacker Randell Johnson, indicated over the weekend that the celebration was not spontaneous. "He said that once he plays his former team that he wanted to be carried off and chant and have fun, and we just tried to make a dream come true," Johnson said, according to the Detroit Free Press.
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Lions receiver Golden Tatewent on to blast Schwartz's display in an interview with the radio station WMGC-FM. From NFL.com:
"I thought it was so disrespectful. So disrespectful," Tate said. "I didn't like it at all. If I knew I wasn't gonna get fined, I would have snatched him right down off the shoulders and threw him on the ground, personally -- but, you know, obviously, I couldn't do that. But, you know, if that's what they feel like that was the right thing to do, then so be it. But I just thought it was a bit disrespectful to come on someone's home field, because you have a past with them and kind of do that. So, you know, it is what it is. Hopefully he feels better for doing it."
Tate didn't stop there.
"It's a terrible gesture. Just being a spectator, that's not the first time he's done some things like that," Tate added. "And one thing I heard that -- I don't know how true it is -- but I heard it was planned. ... 'We'll do this if we win.' That's a total douche move.'"
" ... It's something that doesn't go unnoticed. ... It's in the past. Hopefully they feel good about the Rudy moment that they had."
The Bills (3-2) host the New England Patriots on Sunday, while the Lions play at the Minnesota Vikings.
- Chris Johnson
