Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt is drawing criticism from a notable NFL peer after a video of him went viral following Sunday’s loss.
Pratt and the Bengals saw their season end with a 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker hit a game-winning field goal in the last seconds of the contest after Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai made a huge mistake with a roughing-the-passer penalty that cost his team 15 crucial yards (video here).
Katie Kapusta of Spectrum News 1 in Ohio shared a video from outside the Bengals locker room after the game that showed Pratt having a profane outburst over the Ossai mistake.
Here is the video (but beware of the bad language).
Pratt, who was playing in the final season of his contract and will now be a free agent, was widely condemned online for the outburst. Many thought it was a very bad look for him to throw a teammate under the bus so openly like that. Dallas Cowboys All-Pro Micah Parsons was one of those who joined in on the criticism of Pratt, tweeting, “This lame asf!”
The fifth-year linebacker Pratt posted a response on Instagram to the critics.
“Yep ppl will post anything on social media for likes and views,” he said of the video. “I have real feelings [and] sometimes they are raw. If you love something as much [as] I do, sometimes things will be said in the heated [sic] of the moment. But I know what type of teammate I am. And what type of man I am. Trust me no love lost Im [sic] hurt. Remember some ppl with [sic] hate you, rate you and shake you and try to break you but I will stand tall like always.”
Pratt probably has a point in that the outburst occurred in the heat of the moment (right after a devastating season-ending loss), so emotions were still very raw. But you have to feel bad for Ossai, who was having a great game (with five tackles, two QB hits, one tackle for loss, and one pass defended) and just made an awful mistake at an awful time. Ossai’s heartbreaking reaction to the play said it all as well.
More must-reads: