Antonio Cromartie’s wife, Terricka, is accusing the Colts of cutting her husband over his protest of the national anthem, rather than his skills on the field. In a since deleted Instagram post, Terricka called out the Colts and the NFL as a whole, while explaining Colts players were told not to take a knee during the anthem but Antonio did it anyway.
@IamJoeSports
In the post, she says “You are Nothing More than an Entertainer. Just Shut and do what we say. You have No rights as along as you are working for me.. there are other places for you to fight and stand for what you believe.”
The post added: “One things for sure I know my husband was told Not to take a Knee and he went with his heart and he took one. And that cost him his Job.. and Clearly this Statement backs that up… Just a Paid To put on a show.”
Irsay has not been shy about not being a fan of the protests, which was something he reiterated this week during the NFL owners meetings.
“It hasn’t been a positive thing,” Irsay told reporters. “What we all have to be aware of as players, owners, PR people, equipment managers, is when the lights go on we are entertainment. We are being paid to put on a show. There are other places to express yourself.”
Irsay sounds very close minded with that statement and more than likely mimics how most owners feel about players on their teams taking a knee. His statement makes what Terricka said even more valid. He only wants players to show up and play and not have any mind of their own.
Cromartie became the only Colts player to take a knee when he did it during the anthem before the Sept. 25 game against the San Diego Chargers. He did it again the following week when the Colts played the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Problem for Antonio though is his play on the field was far from good this season. In fact he has been terrible. He was so bad against the Jags in London that he was benched for the entire second half after being torched in the first half. Not to mention the Colts have multiple defensive backs who are better than him and are finally healthy.
While it’s more likely Cromartie was cut because he wasn’t worth the roster spot, I think it’s pretty safe to say his protests made it easier for the Colts to let him go rather than hold on to him just in case.
