During this week’s Monday Night Football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, MNF announcer Jason Witten addressed the Skins decision to claim Reuben Foster off waivers after he was arrested on allegations of domestic violence. Witten was aggressive in denouncing the Redskins decision and called it a “horrendous judgement” by the team.
“100% no. I think the Washington Redskins used horrendous judgment in claiming this guy. And I understand that it’s an ongoing investigation. But, my family’s been affected by domestic violence. I understand the anguish that it causes. Young players just have to understand there is no tolerance for putting your hands on a woman.”
Witten, who has been a strong advocate against domestic violence, was quickly called a hypocrite for not previously calling out the Cowboys for hiring alleged domestic abuser Greg Hardy while he played for the team.
Here’s what Witten had to say about his then teammate Hardy back in 2015.
Via ESPN
“I think more than anything I think everybody knows (I’m against) domestic violence,” “That’s unwavering. That’s something that I lived, my family lived. But that guy is a teammate of mine, so I think you have to look at it from that standpoint. As coach (Jason) Garrett says, it’s our job to invite those guys in and create a standard of how we do things. I think he’s done a great job since he’s been here. It’s not my job to decide who comes in. I’m a tight end. But I’ve been really pleased how he’s approached it and how he goes to work and what kind of teammate he’s been. The day he got suspended, the next day he’s in there working out, so I think that’s kind of the mentality he has, what kind of work ethic (he has) and what he’s trying to prove in Dallas.” […]
“I think when you add the guy like that and then he gets suspended and you never know how it’s going to come out,” Witten said. “The guy works his tail off. Our job is to welcome him and show him the way we do things and embrace him as a teammate, and he’s done everything that you want. He’s a hard worker. Obviously he’s a talented player. I think he’s learned a lot from what he’s gone through in the last year. He’s had a good offseason.”
On Wednesday, Witten responded to the criticism regarding his quote on Hardy and he admitted that “choose not to be divisive” in public while talking about his teammate at the time.
— Jason Witten (@JasonWitten) December 5, 2018
Witten admitting that he lied to the media so that he wouldn’t make his team uncomfortable about hiring an alleged domestic abuser is not a good look.
