The Tennessee Titans' situation with the release of Jordan Elliott has sparked so many reactions from around the NFL. Titans Wire actually compiled many of those reactions into a list, and the resounding sentiment is mostly shock, but given the lack of actual facts and information around the incident, there are a variety of reactions coming out on Wednesday.
One of those taking a different stance is former NFL defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko.
Faheko played for the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers during his five-year career, and he's recently made controversial comments about the NFL being rigged because of sports betting. Now, he's coming to the defense of Elliott and slamming Titans head coach Robert Saleh for his handling of the situation.
"This is the NFL," Fehoko wrote on X. "They don’t care about your personal life or what you’re going through. I’m not excusing Jordan Elliot’s actions, but I’ve said it multiple times, the NFL is so fake. Robert Saleh said Elliot been struggling with off-the-field stuff. Yet teams quickly post ChatGPT (expletive) statements saying, 'We are here for you and let’s protect mental health.' It’s all a (expletive) lie, and it took this guy finally boiling over and wanting to kill a teammate. The moment you get help in an organization and admit you’re struggling mentally, they’ll cut you. Players know this. (Expletive) the NFL. This is a sad situation."
This is a sad situation. However, to be fair, Saleh said "personal issues" and did not allude to them being mental health issues, per se. While that may very well be the case, because of the lack of information the Titans have let out, we truly don't know what those issues were.
In a separate post on X, Fehoko said, "If someone says they've been struggling with off-the-field personal matters for weeks, why not address it before it escalates? Jordan Elliot is 100% wrong and should never play football again. My issue is Robert Saleh said he was dealing with this for weeks & yet nobody thought, 'Hey man we should give this dude some time away so he can find some peace.'"
Again, Fehoko is implying that the Titans stood idly by without attempting to help a member of their roster. The implication is unfounded and has no basis. There is zero evidence that we've seen indicating that no help was offered.
As a former NFL player, Fehoko should know that Saleh has been instructed on what he can and cannot disclose. And, again, we don't know what was happening behind closed doors. How do we know they weren't actively trying to help Elliott with whatever his issues were? The truth is, we don't. Only people who were directly involved in the incident know what happened.
Fehoko got one thing right, though. This is an incredibly sad situation. Not just for Elliott, but for JC Latham, who has to be reeling knowing that he was almost shot at football practice, and the rest of the locker room, who have to deal with the fallout.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Ex-NFL DT slams Titans' Robert Saleh for Jordan Elliott situation