Joey Porter: 'I just call it how I see it'
November, 27, 2009
11/27/09
3:32
PM ET
Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Joey Porter is one of the NFL's most hated players.
He's not afraid to speak his mind, and his opinions frequently upset opponents and their fans.
Before their game in Week 9, he called out the New England Patriots by saying their titles warranted asterisks and Tom Brady gets preferential treatment. Towards the end of a 27-17 Patriots victory, the Gillette Stadium crowd erupted when the video scoreboard noted Porter had zero tackles or sacks.
Porter played nice on a conference call with Buffalo Bills reporters to preview Sunday's game in Ralph Wilson Stadium.
He was deferential when discussing how dangerous the Bills are, that they look like an edgier team under interim coach Perry Fewell and the importance of shutting down running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.
But Porter did address why he's so outspoken and the ramifications that come along with that.
Do you worry about having a target on your chest?
Joey Porter: I don't live my life feeling "If I say this I wonder what they're going to think about me." My life isn't going to be dictated by somebody else's feelings or what they think. That's what makes me me, and that's what allows me to say some of the things I say and feel the way I feel. I just want to play football. I don't think I do anything to discredit anybody or anything like that. I just call it how I see it. Some people can handle it. Some people can't. But that's not my problem to deal with.
Does saying those things get you fired up?
JP: I just think some people naturally shy away from conflict, and naturally don't want to say things that cause a conflict. It can be the littlest of things that can cause a conflict. I was raised in a household that you always said what was on your mind because if you want to hold it in and say it behind somebody's back, then ... I was raised to make you feel like that's a coward move if you don't want to say it. If you don't want to talk how you feel, but you get behind closed doors and tell somebody else how you feel, well, if that's how you feel, just speak your mind. So that's where that comes from. Besides that, there's nothing there. I just get geared up every week to play football. My living is being a football player, and this is what I do.
Where does that intensity come from?
JP: Being raised up in the streets of Bakersfield, California. Having to fight for everything that you have. Taking advantage of the opportunities you have, where you're playing football at the highest level that you can play it. I was geared up when I was 8, playing flag football. So being able to now play it on the highest level that you can play it on, how can you not be fired up to get out there and play? This is your livelihood. Everybody dreamed to be here when they were a kid. For having the opportunity to do it, I feel you can't cheat a day -- not one day -- that you're out there.
He's not afraid to speak his mind, and his opinions frequently upset opponents and their fans.
Before their game in Week 9, he called out the New England Patriots by saying their titles warranted asterisks and Tom Brady gets preferential treatment. Towards the end of a 27-17 Patriots victory, the Gillette Stadium crowd erupted when the video scoreboard noted Porter had zero tackles or sacks.
Porter played nice on a conference call with Buffalo Bills reporters to preview Sunday's game in Ralph Wilson Stadium.
He was deferential when discussing how dangerous the Bills are, that they look like an edgier team under interim coach Perry Fewell and the importance of shutting down running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.
But Porter did address why he's so outspoken and the ramifications that come along with that.
Do you worry about having a target on your chest?
Joey Porter: I don't live my life feeling "If I say this I wonder what they're going to think about me." My life isn't going to be dictated by somebody else's feelings or what they think. That's what makes me me, and that's what allows me to say some of the things I say and feel the way I feel. I just want to play football. I don't think I do anything to discredit anybody or anything like that. I just call it how I see it. Some people can handle it. Some people can't. But that's not my problem to deal with.
Does saying those things get you fired up?
JP: I just think some people naturally shy away from conflict, and naturally don't want to say things that cause a conflict. It can be the littlest of things that can cause a conflict. I was raised in a household that you always said what was on your mind because if you want to hold it in and say it behind somebody's back, then ... I was raised to make you feel like that's a coward move if you don't want to say it. If you don't want to talk how you feel, but you get behind closed doors and tell somebody else how you feel, well, if that's how you feel, just speak your mind. So that's where that comes from. Besides that, there's nothing there. I just get geared up every week to play football. My living is being a football player, and this is what I do.
Where does that intensity come from?
JP: Being raised up in the streets of Bakersfield, California. Having to fight for everything that you have. Taking advantage of the opportunities you have, where you're playing football at the highest level that you can play it. I was geared up when I was 8, playing flag football. So being able to now play it on the highest level that you can play it on, how can you not be fired up to get out there and play? This is your livelihood. Everybody dreamed to be here when they were a kid. For having the opportunity to do it, I feel you can't cheat a day -- not one day -- that you're out there.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
James Walker
Walker joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the NFL and NBA for the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. He's a Temple graduate and Hyattsville, Md. native who lives in Miami.
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