| Sapp said he apologized to Shockey. But Sapp also is ready to rumble if need be. (US Presswire) |
Warren Sapp and Panthers tight end Jeremy Shockey haven't exactly been on the best of terms. But on Friday, Sapp claimed to 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston (via sportsradiointerviews.com) that he actually apologized to Shockey for his past transgression.
You might recall that Sapp, who somehow saved his analysis job with the NFL Network, accused Shockey of being the whistleblower (or snitch) who told the NFL about the Saints bounty program.
After Shockey angrily denied the accusation and Roger Goodell said Sapp was incorrect, Sapp's contract with Showtime's Inside the NFL was not renewed and, instead, he signed on to be the judge of some reality courtroom show after he declared bankruptcy (I imagine those two moves were not mutually exclusive).
Still, Shockey wasn't pleased that Sapp didn't face a harsh punishment.
"Is the league going to come down on their own people when someone does something so wrong and outrageous?" Shockey said. "There should be a standard for punishment, like getting suspended or fined or losing your job. If I say something about officials, the league fines me.
"This guy says something about me that's not true and that he's not supposed to say and what happens? Nothing. You'd think they would have done something to check it out."
Later, Sapp ran into Shockey and tried to make things right.
"I saw Jeremy about a week after it all went down at a Heat game … and I told him, I said, 'I apologize for putting it on the street level and making it derogatory towards you,'" Sapp told the radio station. "The information that was passed to me, I stand by my source, but I hate that I put it on a level, that wasn't the way it should be. … That's what I apologized for, because I put it on a way lower level than it should've been. It was something serious that never shoulda went on and stuff like that. So that's the problem I have with myself and what I said to him."
Not only should Sapp have apologized to Shockey, he also should have apologized that his source was so ridiculously wrong (allegedly). Not sure why Sapp is standing by his source in this situation, but if Shockey doesn't accept the apology, Sapp knows the next step.
"The two times I've seen him I haven't had a problem with him, but if he does we can go out in the grass and get it over with," he said. "… I don't have a problem with getting my knuckles a little scarred up."
Now, to be fair, I have no idea if Sapp was kidding when he said that last part. It stands to reason that he probably was. At least that's what Sapp's source told me.
For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, and subscribe to our Pick-6 Podcast and NFL newsletter. You can follow Josh Katzowitz on Twitter here: @joshkatzowitz.