Browns' Baker Mayfield continues to show he has no backdown when it comes to Hue Jackson
In the last few days, Cleveland Browns rookie Baker Mayfield has said a fair amount about his former coach, Hue Jackson.
In a nutshell, Mayfield doesn’t like that Jackson signed on to be a Cincinnati Bengals assistant coach after he was fired as the Browns’ head coach, ostensibly to help the Bengals beat the Browns in the two meetings the teams had yet to play this season.
After Sunday’s game, when Mayfield and Cleveland beat Jackson and the Bengals, Mayfield gave Jackson a frosty reception at midfield and told reporters that Jackson “was in our locker room, asking us to play for him and then goes to a different team that we play twice a year.”
On Monday, in response to criticism from ESPN’s Damien Woody, Mayfield called Jackson “fake.”
And on Wednesday, he said it’s his opinion and he’s entitled to it.
‘I speak my mind; that’s just how I am’
The quarterback was asked if he has any regrets relative to Jackson and what he’s said and done, and wasn’t backing down.
“No. You know, people took it as me personally attacking Hue; that’s not it,” Mayfield said. “It’s the fact that I get to have my own opinion on how it transpired and he gets to do what he wants; that’s how it is. … I speak my mind. That’s how I am. I didn’t like the move and people don’t have to care. I’m not looking for anybody’s approval. I don’t regret any of it.”
#LIVE: QB Baker Mayfield at the podium https://t.co/90zFsQ6PSX
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 28, 2018
‘People get maturity confused’
One of the things that has dogged Mayfield since before he was drafted is his maturity, or the belief by some that he’s lacking it because of his sometimes over-the-top celebrations at Oklahoma.
That criticism has resurfaced this week, and his mini-feuds with Jackson and Woody are overshadowing his strong performance against the Bengals, when he threw a Browns rookie record four touchdowns.
“Some ‘Oklahoma mistakes’ as in sideline gestures and getting arrested?,” Mayfield said to a media member. “Those are the only mistakes I made at Oklahoma. People get maturity confused with me being 100 percent comfortable in my own skin. That’s absolutely how I am. I’ve always been that way. It’s not immature, it’s me being exactly who I am, every day, being that same guy for our team.”
Mayfield noted that Woody is on a talk show to offer his opinions, and he is entitled to do the same.
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