Peppers taking heat from angry Browns fans

Jabrill Peppers has started playing selfdefence.

The Browns defensive back said Thursday — his 23rd birthday — that he has stopped going out in public by himself in downtown Cleveland following hostile confrontations with fans unhappy with the way he has played.

Peppers said he has endured verbal taunts and some joking before, but lately some of the encounters have nearly become physical.

“When you walk up on another man, that’s a hostile situation,” Peppers said following practice. “For me, I have way more to lose than the average guy. So it puts me in kind of a funky situation where I can’t even go get daily toiletries or things without having to worry about something like that.”

Peppers did not give any specifics about the altercations. However, on Wednesday he told the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram about an “aggressive” exchange in a drugstore where “my boy had to pull me away one time.”

Peppers said he has been confronted numerous times and believes some of the grief he’s taken is because he went to Michigan and plays in a city where rival Ohio State fans are abundant.

“Sometimes it’s more so jokes, but as of late it’s kind of a little bit more different situation than just verbal,” he said.

Peppers also tried to clarify comments that Browns fans are “very, very wishywashy.” The former Michigan star said he wasn’t referring to diehard Browns fans, but rather to an overall environment that exists in NFL cities.

“This is the NFL and that’s how it is,” he said. “Love you when you’re doing good, and they don’t when you’re not. We know we have to play better. Obviously, I wasn’t talking about the fans as a whole — just more so the environment of an NFL franchise. We understand the city of Cleveland loves their Browns and wants to see us get back to how it’s supposed to be.

“But that’s just the NFL. They love you when you’re doing good or not so much when you’re not.”

The No. 25 overall pick in the 2017 draft, Peppers has not lived up to expectations and he knows that’s at the root of the backlash he’s getting from fans.

But despite the recent negative experiences, he has not soured on playing in Cleveland.

“I love the Browns. I love the city,” he said.