Professional athletes love to pretend like personal slights or social media chatter doesn’t phase them, but we all know that’s a bold-faced lie. Kevin Durant had a whole-ass secret burner account; LeBron is notorious for clapping back at critics and going off the grid during the playoffs, and Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf is cut from the same cloth.
While it’s never a good idea to talk bad about anyone who can do shit like this, apparently Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz did exactly that prior to Philly’s face-off against Seattle on Monday night.
According to Metcalf, Schwartz told him “I was in Detroit with Megatron, but you’re not there yet”—an obvious reference to Lions all-time great Calvin Johnson—and the petty in Metcalf just wouldn’t let that shit go.
“In my mind, I’m not trying to be Megatron,” Metcalf told reporters. “I’m trying to be me. So I had a chip on my shoulder the whole game.”
So how exactly did Metcalf respond to the perceived slight? By catching a 52-yard bomb to set up Seattle’s first score in the opening minutes of the second quarter, then proceeding to lay waste to defensive back Darius Slay by finishing the game with 10 passes for 177 yards in Seattle’s 23-17 win.
For his part, Schwartz maintains that he had no intention whatsoever to offend Metcalf, but clearly, his attempt at a compliment backfired spectacularly.
“Jim Schwartz says he complimented DK before game, told him he’s got ton of respect for him & he was with Calvin in Detroit & he’s closest thing to Megatron he’s seen,” John Clark of NBC Sports tweeted. “Jim told him after game, ‘you may not be Calvin yet but you’re on your way.’ Was complimenting @dkm14 both times.”
Schwartz’s intentions might’ve been pure, but his execution clearly left much to be desired. More importantly, he didn’t even feel the brunt of Metcalf’s wrath. The true victim here is Darius Slay, who was tasked with trying to keep the ball out of Metcalf’s hands.
“It was tough,” Slay admitted to reporters after getting destroyed on the field. “Like I said, he did a great job of catching the ball. He did everything good as a receiver. I would say this is by far the worst game I have ever played in the league. I truly lost every 50/50 ball. I was probably 0-for. I have never been that, but I say props to him, he played his ass off today, and I have to get better.”
Playing better might’ve helped, but it sounds like Schwartz keeping his mouth shut would’ve helped even more considering Metcalf already had it out for the Eagles for not snatching him up in the 2019 draft.
Let this be a lesson to the rest of the league: DK Metcalf is petty as fuck so unless you want that work too, I strongly suggest you stay the hell away from that man before kickoff.