Cromartie's wife claims he was cut due to protesting the anthem

[lollygagger8 3,352]

http://nypost.com/2016/10/19/antonio-cromarties-wife-colts-cut-him-over-anthem-protest/

 

Antonio Cromartie took a knee and put his fist in the air twice during the playing of the national anthem. According to his wife, the Colts owner perceived that raised arm as his volunteering to be cut.

The cornerback was waived Oct. 4, two days after his second statement during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a time frame Terricka Cromartie doesn’t view as accidental, especially after Jim Irsay spoke out against the protests.

Terricka Cromartie posted a note on Instagram on Wednesday suggesting her 32-year-old husband had been given a warning not to follow in Colin Kaepernick’s footsteps, but he did so anyway — which led to the Colts cutting ties.

“one things for sure I know my husband was told Not to take a Knee and he went with his heart and he took one,” Terricka wrote on Instagram, attached to a screenshot of Irsay denouncing the protests. “And that cost him his Job.. and Clearly this Statement backs that up.”

Irsay cited the growing movement of players refusing to stand for the song honoring America as part of the ratings problem the NFL has experienced this season. Irsay has taken issue with players making their objections on a national stage, during events that draw crowds looking for entertainment.

“I think it’s the wrong venue,” the Colts owner told USA Today in a story published Wednesday. “It hasn’t been a positive thing. What we all have to be aware of as players, owners, PR people, equipment managers, is when the lights go on, we are entertainment. We are being paid to put on a show. There are other places to express yourself.”

The Colts did not publicly respond Wednesday to Cromartie’s accusations that her husband effectively was fired for his speech.

Antonio Cromartie, a former Jet, first dropped to a knee with his fist in the air Sept. 25. His statement came amid a rushed season — he only signed with the Colts in late August. Cromartie, clearly in the declining years of his career, started four games for Indianapolis and registered two passes defensed and 14 tackles. He was part of a defense that ranked 30th in points allowed and 24th in yards allowed when he was cut.

 

 

 

[2006Coltsbestever 22,269]

Probably but he stunk is the main reason  

[Old Colt 157]

So.....  he doesn't take instruction or coaching well.  That showed in his poor performance on the field and his not listening to pre-game instruction (if he was actually told this).  As bad as the Colts may be, they don't need more controversy and distractions.  Especially from someone who can't play anymore. 

[pgt_rob 727]

Jim Irsay is the boss. He can fire you for whatever reason their may be.

[ReMeDy 431]

That would be funny if Pagano took a knee.

[shakedownstreet 2,129]

it's never good when player's wives speak up on their behalf 

[IinD 2,146]

Lol..

 

Had nothing to do with being allergic to tackling...or covering for that matter.

 

[ColtsFanMikeC 50]

I called this the day Cromartie was released.... nobody wants to be accountable for doing a crappy job any more, so letting the amount of big plays against him that he did to cost our team victories probably has nothing to do with the termination of his contract.

[colts8718 165]

15 minutes ago, ReMeDy said:

That would be funny if Pagano took a knee.

[indyagent17 797]

This country is falling apart....

[Indyfan4life 834]

Oh jeez. 

 

Nope. Wasn't cut because he was getting beat every play and having non-drafted players beat him.

 

Blame it on him taking a knee. 

[ReMeDy 431]

3 minutes ago, colts8718 said:

 

All the Colts fans would be cheering Pagano for taking a knee, and he would be like, "Why is everyone celebrating?"

[jet1968 46]

Cromartie's wife is a genius!

[braveheartcolt 1,394]

No big deal. He took a knee during most of his plays....

 

[2006Coltsbestever 22,269]

27 minutes ago, ReMeDy said:

That would be funny if Pagano took a knee.

If he was to read some of the stuff on this Site being Posted about him he probably would take a knee in protest of the Site.

[csmopar 7,512]

34 minutes ago, indyagent17 said:

This country is falling apart....

sadly, you're right

[shakedownstreet 2,129]

38 minutes ago, indyagent17 said:

This country is falling apart....

 

i blame the dad-burn hippies!

 

[coltsfanej 294]

I'm fine with that being the reason. Anything that got him out of Indy.

[tikyle 42]

1 hour ago, Old Colt said:

As bad as the Colts may be, they don't need more controversy and distractions.  Especially from someone who can't play anymore. 

 

How much of a distraction is it really?  I mean the NFL keeps throwing out this distraction thing for every single thing a player does but if the player is good no one cares about "distractions."  Even in SF where is the distraction?  If anything Kaepernick gets more questions.  Outside of that what distractions are really happening?  What distractions are happening in NE when Gronk has a party cruise or when Bennett throws all his other teams under the bus?  What distractions are happening in Seattle when all the players lock arms and people freak out and give those guys death threats?  What about in NY where Odell is abusing nets and their * kicker is abusing his wife?

 

The distractions argument is a joke NFL wide.

 

You know what a real distraction is, Ryan Fitzpatrick keeping his starting job a week after throwing 6 picks.  The Colts cutting LBers better than the ones they have on their roster for who knows why.  A coach saying the same old things about chopping wood but never at how he's not developing talent.  A GM and HC who are not on the same page and are not working well together.  Those are distractions.

[ReMeDy 431]

It looks like the vast majority on the Yahoo comments on this similar article agree with Irsay's approach, which shocks me that none of them are ridiculing us, since so many Yahoo people seem to be Patriot lovers.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/jim-irsay-speaks-out-against-protests-did-he-cut-antonio-cromartie-over-it-190500209.html

[Devildog 283]

1 hour ago, shakedownstreet said:

it's never good when player's wives speak up on their behalf 

 

I think she spoke because he doesn't have a job, he's probably broke, can't pay for child support, and so affecting his current marriage.

[ReMeDy 431]

5 minutes ago, Devildog said:

 

I think she spoke because he doesn't have a job, he's probably broke, can't pay for child support, and so affecting his current marriage.

 

Basically, she wants him to get off his fat butt and make her some money.

[Solon 94]

I can understand it if he was playing well, but dude was straight garbage. Come on now. Don't undermine the effort by Colin and co. by crying wolf. Cromartie got cut because he was hot (you know what).

[jameszeigler834 967]

1 hour ago, shakedownstreet said:

it's never good when player's wives speak up on their behalf 

even if that was true good no room for that crap of protesting the Anthem also he sucked anyway that's why he got fired.

[chad72 7,364]

It would help if he could cover someone 1-on-1. They thought they were getting a man CB but he cost them too much for a zone CB that needed safety help, something they could accomplish with Melvin anyways. It was a matter of $$$$ and I am sure the Cromartie family is missing the $$$$  - everyone can see that.

 

Plus, Patrick Robinson was getting healthier (though he sucks too but they're far too much invested in him at this point to give up on him). It was purely a $$$$ decision, IMO.

 

 

[Gavin 5]

Cromarties play took a big dive after his shoulder injury but he was fine prior to that. I would also hope Cromartie wasn't cut over standing up for what's right

 

With that said given Irsays comments I think its a clear case of an Owner putting personal interest and gain ahead of a better cause.

[IndyTrav 9]

How anyone thought he would be anything but terrible coming off his couch a week before the season started is beyond me. Of course he looked like dog poo. 

 

It is surprising to me however that an unknown colts official was telling him was telling him and likely our other players not to take a knee. That bothers me a bit. 

[CanuckColtsFan 359]

2 hours ago, pgt_rob said:

Jim Irsay is the boss. He can fire you for whatever reason their may be.

In most work environments your boss can't fire you for whatever reason. You need cause or you have to pay out a portion of wages. 

 

If Irsay is cutting players for personal reasons or non football reasons I just hope they aren't better players. 

[21isSuperman 998]

2 hours ago, pgt_rob said:

Jim Irsay is the boss. He can fire you for whatever reason their may be.

Technically, you can't.  There are legal standards against firing someone for things like race.  I'd imagine a good lawyer would be able to make the case that sociopolitical beliefs should also be exempt.

 

While I do think him taking a knee did rub the organization the wrong way, that's not the primary reason.  His play wasn't that great.  It wasn't awful, but with guys coming off IR, he became more expendable.

[Derakynn 125]

Cromartie never had a good game for us and was cut because of it. I said I wanted Melvin to play in his place, and so far he has been way better than Cromartie. This is a case of someone not being able to accept that they (or someone they love) are garbage. He wasn't owed anything, and was only ever signed due to injuries. People are cut everyday in the NFL. A replacement who sucks getting cut isn't some surprising news. 

 

And it'd be stupid to say he was cut over the protests. If Vontae protested, do you really think he would be cut? No, because he is actually good at his job. Whether there was any hint of a motive behind it, the major underlying factor is he was cut because he was a liability. 

[zibby43 1,314]

43 minutes ago, 21isSuperman said:

Technically, you can't.  There are legal standards against firing someone for things like race.  I'd imagine a good lawyer would be able to make the case that sociopolitical beliefs should also be exempt.

 

While I do think him taking a knee did rub the organization the wrong way, that's not the primary reason.  His play wasn't that great.  It wasn't awful, but with guys coming off IR, he became more expendable.

 

The NFL is a private enterprise.

 

Cromartie has no constitutionally-protected rights to express himself via speech or protest in the context of his private employment relationship with the Colts.

 

From a legal perspective, the firing is a complete non-issue.  Trust me on that one.  

[GwinnettColt 146]

She's offended?  So what? No, really.  So what?  It sounds like an internal issue to me.

[pgt_rob 727]

Jim Irsay is the boss. He can fire you for whatever reason their may be.

In most work environments your boss can't fire you for whatever reason. You need cause or you have to pay out a portion of wages. 

 

If Irsay is cutting players for personal reasons or non football reasons I just hope they aren't better players. 

Actually...

In the state of Indiana an employer can fire you for any reason or no reason at all. Of course they can't fire you over your race, sexual orientation, religion, disability, etc. Other than that, you can let go for the littlest thing or let go without reason.

[pgt_rob 727]

Jim Irsay is the boss. He can fire you for whatever reason their may be.

Technically, you can't.  There are legal standards against firing someone for things like race.  I'd imagine a good lawyer would be able to make the case that sociopolitical beliefs should also be exempt.

 

While I do think him taking a knee did rub the organization the wrong way, that's not the primary reason.  His play wasn't that great.  It wasn't awful, but with guys coming off IR, he became more expendable.

I commented on another poster as well. But in the state of Indiana you can be let go from your job with or without reason. So technically, you can. Of course you can't say you're firing someone due to race, sexual orientation, religion, or disability as that is against the law.

[21isSuperman 998]

37 minutes ago, zibby43 said:

 

The NFL is a private enterprise.

 

Cromartie has no constitutionally-protected rights to express himself via speech or protest in the context of his private employment relationship with the Colts.

 

From a legal perspective, the firing is a complete non-issue.  Trust me on that one.  

I agree that it wasn't the main reason why he was let go.  I don't know all of the legal details, and this isn't even remotely serious enough to be taken to court.  He became expendable, and that's why he was cut.

 

24 minutes ago, pgt_rob said:

I commented on another poster as well. But in the state of Indiana you can be let go from your job with or without reason. So technically, you can. Of course you can't say you're firing someone due to race, sexual orientation, religion, or disability as that is against the law.

Ah, that's interesting.  I didn't know that.  Doesn't make sense to me because I imagine the first thing an employee will say after being informed they are being fired is "why?", but it is what it is

[oldunclemark 2,434]

His wife didn't see his last game with us apparently

[Coltfreak 4]

2 hours ago, Gavin said:

Cromarties play took a big dive after his shoulder injury but he was fine prior to that. I would also hope Cromartie wasn't cut over standing up for what's right

 

With that said given Irsays comments I think its a clear case of an Owner putting personal interest and gain ahead of a better cause.

So you don't think Cro put HIS personal interests above what the TEAM decided?  No one else did or has ever took that approach.   he was warned not to do it and did.

 

i don't see him taking a pay cut for all the underpaid people in the world whether black white or purple 

 

Boss tells you no.   Then expect the consequences if you don't do what he said 

[FanFromtheWasteland 20]

54 minutes ago, pgt_rob said:

Actually...

In the state of Indiana an employer can fire you for any reason or no reason at all. Of course they can't fire you over your race, sexual orientation, religion, disability, etc. Other than that, you can let go for the littlest thing or let go without reason.

This is what I thought as well. I think the term is "at will employment"

[corgi 34]

Don't make excuses, he was cut because he was terrible. I understand trying to make up an excuse to make yourself look good, but his play on tape speaks louder than a silent protest. Totally respect his right to protest, but I do not believe that influenced the decision to show him the door.

[pgt_rob 727]

 

The NFL is a private enterprise.

 

Cromartie has no constitutionally-protected rights to express himself via speech or protest in the context of his private employment relationship with the Colts.

 

From a legal perspective, the firing is a complete non-issue.  Trust me on that one.  

I agree that it wasn't the main reason why he was let go.  I don't know all of the legal details, and this isn't even remotely serious enough to be taken to court.  He became expendable, and that's why he was cut.

 

I commented on another poster as well. But in the state of Indiana you can be let go from your job with or without reason. So technically, you can. Of course you can't say you're firing someone due to race, sexual orientation, religion, or disability as that is against the law.

Ah, that's interesting.  I didn't know that.  Doesn't make sense to me because I imagine the first thing an employee will say after being informed they are being fired is "why?", but it is what it is

It's the only normal reaction to want to know the reasoning. Which most cases they would give you a reason, even if it's just a plain "things just weren't working out." But if things came down to it for the employer, they can let you go without providing a reason, unfortunately. I'm not sure if the NFL has a loop hole around that law but that's what the law is here in Indiana.