Bowles tells Sheldon the ‘B.S.’ is over
Todd Bowles is so done with this Sheldon Richardson-Brandon Marshall feud. The Jets coach called it “B.S.,” told Richardson so on Monday and threatened to walk out of a media session a day later when pressed on the topic.
Marshall is long since gone from the Jets, now across town with the Giants, but the distraction is still there and Bowles is clearly sick of it. Richardson took a yearlong spat next-level this week when he accused Marshall of quitting on the Jets and being a drama queen, but now it’s Bowles telling Richardson to cut out the drama.
“My thoughts on it? They know how I feel. We’ve addressed it. I really don’t have time for a bunch of B.S. that happened a year ago,’’ Bowles said. “It happened a year ago; we had six months to talk about it. All that [stuff ] is over with. He’s been well informed of that and we move on from there.”
Richardson and Marshall got in a heated argument in the locker room after last season’s Week 3 loss to Kansas City, and Richardson ripped the wide receiver after a Week 16 blowout against New England. After Marshall asked for and was granted his release, Richardson said, “The locker room is a whole lot easier to get along with now. … Let’s just say we’ve got 15 reasons why it’s better.”
That was a veiled reference to Marshall’s uniform number. But his latest attack wasn’t veiled at all. After Marshall — who was not made available at Giants practice Tuesday — said last month he left the Jets because he couldn’t take another year “knowing that we didn’t have a chance,” Richardson couldn’t bite his tongue.
“That whole situation was sticky because we lose and he did little things that were drama queen-ish. Dogging out this guy, that guy. It’s everybody’s fault except his,’’ Richardson told ESPN Radio, adding, “If he can’t come out to the media and tell them what he did and how he actually quit on this team well before the season was over, well that’s all in itself.”
With the Jets already expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season, Bowles has enough on his plate without having to deal with fervor whipped up by Richardson.
“We’ve moved on from there, believe me. We’ve had team discussions, individual discussions and we’ve moved on,’’ Bowles said. When asked if he specifically informed Richardson it was unacceptable, Bowles replied, “Everybody’s been informed. We’ve been informed, everybody’s been informed.”
Considering Richardson has spent the past year throwing shade at Marshall, Bowles was asked whether he specifically spoke with the defensive lineman on Monday, or after one of his various other shots at his former teammate.
“That’s when it happened,” said Bowles. “I don’t have time for the B.S. We’ve moved forward, and it’s not my discussion to have.”
It does beg the question of when — or if — the 26-year-old Richardson will start to grow up. He’s one of the Jets’ best players, but has maturity issues.
In 2014, Richardson was fined $8,268 for his role in an end-zone fight. The next season he not only got suspended for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, but got arrested in Missouri and charged for resisting arrest and traffic violations, reportedly racing 140 mph and leading police on a chase. He was found guilty of reckless driving and resisting arrest.
When pressed whether Richardson had a maturity problem, Bowles lost his patience.
“I’m going to repeat this answer one more time, I don’t have time for B.S.,” said Bowles. “Move on. You’re going to get that answer probably the next 30 times you ask it, so we can move on or the interview can be over. Either one is fine with me.”