It only took once punch, but Jeremiah Trotter tells hilarious story of knocking out LaVar Arrington when the pair were Washington Redskins teammates.
When Jeremiah Trotter signed with the Washington Redskins after the Eagles initially slapped him with the franchise tag in 2002, things didn't exactly get off on the right foot with fellow linebacker LaVar Arrington.
During an appearance on 97.5 FM The Fanatic's morning show with Anthony Gargano and Jon Marks, Trotter recalls the time he knocked the Penn State product out for multiple practice with a single punch in the middle of a position group meeting.
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"I really made an ultimatum for myself," Trotter said, Philly Influencer. "I shouldn't have done it. I told the guys in the car, I said, 'ya'll mark my words, I'm tired of trying to make peace with this guy. If he says one more word to me, ya'll mark what I say, I'm gonna put him to sleep. Just like that.' And the guys, they were still kind of cracking jokes. They didn't really think about it. They didn't know how serious I was.
"So, we get into meetings. The way they got meetings set up is ... you've got defensive linemen in one room, defensive backs in another room, and we're in our room. And we get to the play. Now [assistant defensive coordinator/linebackers coach] George Edwards could have prevented the whole situation if he had just skipped over the play. But we got to the play, and George was like, 'Trot, man. You and L.A. -- we're a team, we gotta stick together. Once Trot makes the call, it's not the safety's job to come change it.'
"So I'm sitting in the front row. It's me on the left side, Jessie Armstead in the middle, and LaVar Arrington on the right side. And when coach said that, he [Arrington] said, 'No, f*** that! I want everybody to see he don't know what the f*** he doin'! So I didn't say nothin'. I just leaned over and looked at him. And I would've let that one slide. But, George was like, 'No, no, it's just the middle linebacker's job to make the call and roll with it.' And [Arrington] got even louder. I guess he took my kindness for my weakness. 'No, f*** that!' He just started getting crazy. So, I stood up and as I'm standing up, I'm talking out loud ... 'I'm through playing. I ain't talkin' no more but I'm talkin' out loud to myself. I think I'm saying it in my head, but I'm actually talking out loud. So I stood up and I pushed the chair back, and when he stood up he lunged and swung at me. And when he did, I faded and I caught him with an overhand right. Yeah, he was out. You ever seen a boxer fall? When he hit the table, he kind of came back. At that time, I just blanked out, so I was going in."
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Arrington was so stunned by what happened, he actually thought that he banged his head on a desk, causing him to get knocked out cold. Trotter says that he had to explain the incident after walking back into the room to apologize.
The pair have since made amends for the incident, but this seems like it could be a glimpse into the heated world of Monday-through Saturday in the life of being an NFL player.
Listen to the full interview here.
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Matt Lombardo may be reached at MDLombardo@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardo975. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.
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