ESPN Radio host Don La Greca had an absolute meltdown on air Wednesday reacting to disparaging comments New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal made about the team’s fans.
Neal criticized fans for booing his struggling team during Sunday night’s blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks, telling NJ Advance Media that he told fans to “boo louder.”
“Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep?” he asked in an interview with the outlet. “The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”
La Greca, a staple of New York’s notoriously reactive local media, took exception to the comments in an animated rant.
ICYMI: @DonLagreca had some thoughts on Neal’s comments in the article below https://t.co/AnCourTJuT pic.twitter.com/PWlqMQ5rSg
— The Michael Kay Show (@TMKSESPN) October 4, 2023
“Are you kidding me?” the YES Network broadcaster demanded, audibly pounding the table. “I’d cut his ass, I would! How dare you! These people pay your salary! They pay an obnoxious amount of money to park … and you call them hamburger flippers? What, you’re so much better?! I’d rather have a guy that’s flipping hamburgers block than your piece of garbage ass!”
La Greca continued, red faced with spittle flying from his mouth. “Who the hell are you to talk to fans like that? You piece of garbage. I hate when players do that. You’re not above us. What, because you happen to play a sport you’re better than me? You’re better than the people that pay your salary? These Giant fans were here before you, and they’ll be here after your sorry ass is cut,” he said. “What a piece of human trash.”
Neal, to his credit, apologized to fans on social media. “I am wrong for lashing out at the fans who are just as passionate as I am. I let my frustrations in my play + desire to win get the best of me. I had no right to make light of anyone’s job and I deeply regret the things I said,” he posted. (RELATED: J.C. Jackson Reunites With Patriots Following Arrest Warrant)
But La Greca was uninterested in his remorse. “And I don’t wanna hear some apology,” he said. “I don’t wanna hear ‘Oh I was taken out of context, I didn’t mean it.’ I don’t wanna hear it. DONE. DONE. I would CUT HIS FAT ASS. If you see him in the mall at Willowbrook, BOO HIS ASS. If you see him on the DMV, BOO HIM, DON’T STOP BOOING HIM. If he goes to the Pro Bowl, BOO HIM. If he wins a Super Bowl, boo his sorry ass. Screw that guy, we’re not nobody’s — flipping burgers? How do you condescend to people that pay to watch you play? Poorly, I might add.”
Neal, in his second year out of Alabama after the Giants selected him with the seventh pick last year, has struggled mightily to start the season. He’s given up 20 quarterback pressures and ranks in the bottom half of the league in pass protection, per Pro Football Focus.