Baker Mayfield rips Hue Jackson as 'fake' after media questions transfer to Oklahoma from Texas Tech
The Browns quarterback is unafraid to get in the petty wars and we are here for it
By
Will Brinson
•
2 min read
Is Baker Mayfield the NFL's answer for the famous "petty wars" and inter-league drama of the NBA? I sure hope so, and early returns are at least promising. The Browns quarterback extracted his revenge on Hue Jackson Sunday, with Cleveland blitzing the Bengals 35-20 in a game that saw Mayfield showing off his skillset and then snubbing Hue in the aftermath of the game.
Because we need things to yell about, there were plenty of people who criticized Mayfield for refusing to hug Jackson on the field after the game when his old coach sought him out. That includes former NFL player Damien Woody, who appeared on ESPN's "First Take" and pointed out that Mayfield also switched teams, transferring from Texas Tech to Oklahoma in college.
The basic construct of the argument makes some sense: Mayfield decided to leave Texas Tech for Oklahoma, another school in the same conference, like Hue left Cleveland for Cincinnati. But there are some pretty major differences too. Mayfield was an unpaid amateur restricted by the NCAA and required to sit out a full year before he could play at Oklahoma.
Additionally, as Mayfield previously detailed, former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury didn't offer Mayfield a scholarship and basically "ghosted" him after Mayfield suffered an MCL injury. Read about Mayfield's transfer and you come the to realization it wasn't the quarterback being petty about the situation.
Whatever, you get the point -- it's not the same thing. And Baker was happy to remind everyone, via an Instagram comment on the post in above, that it wasn't the same thing. Also that Hue Jackson is "fake" and lost 30 games with the Browns.
BUDDY. He's basically morphing into a very small and funnier John Dorsey. I love this.
Arguing that what Mayfield did -- transferring from one college to another while sitting out a year -- is the same thing as what Hue did -- leaving the team you wanted to keep coaching and going to a rival set to play that team twice in the next two months -- is patently ridiculous.
Woody has a point about the NFL here: guys change jobs all the time and guys end up playing against their old teams all the time as well. Baker might very well end up working with Jackson at some point down the road.
But it's abundantly clear Mayfield isn't willing to suffer any fools or put on any airs when it comes to this situation with the guy who created a bunch of tension and drama inside the building in Berea. And I, for one, am here for Mayfield's continued willingness to say what he's thinking.
