As if the 1-4 Eagles didn't have enough to worry about, two offensive linemen are under fire this week for defending their head coach in an unusual way.
Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce were leaving team headquarters Monday when they saw fans holding up a sign calling for the firing of Eagles coach Andy Reid. This disturbed the pair greatly, so much so that Kelce pulled over his truck and the players asked the protesters to remove the signage.
After a brief conversation, the fans complied. Cue public outcry.
"That's the wrong message that's being displayed right now. I support freedom of speech," Kelce told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday. "If you want to go out to talk bad stuff about the coaches or things like that do it on a blog, do it wherever you want, but don't bring it to our front door right now when we're 1-4 trying to get better. We don't need that kind of division on the team right now."
Both men said they didn't threaten the fans in any way. That said, this is the part where we gently remind our readership that Mathis is 6-foot-5 and 302 pounds, and 6-3 Kelce weighs in at 282. Some people can intimidate just by being.
Fair enough, but it should be noted the protesters were situated on public property, which puts a serious dent in Kelce's supposed support of the Bill of Rights.
One additional wrinkle to the story that warrants mentioning. The sign in question actually read: "ANDY THE TIMES ... TO GO". Honestly, what does this even mean? Perhaps the ire of Mathis and Kelce would best be suited toward Philly's public-school system.
