When Shannon Sharpe unexpectedly dialed Julio Jones from his cell phone on FS1’s Undisputed, Sharpe asked him if he wanted to stay in Atlanta, to which Julio Jones responded, “I’m outta here.” It created a ton backlash, and the Falcons were completely caught off guard by the interview, according to Front Office Sports.
The Falcons, according to sources, believe the interview — where Jones told Sharpe “I’m out of there, man” about Atlanta while also dismissing the Dallas Cowboys as a possible destination — undercut their negotiating position as they try to trade the All-Pro wide receiver to another NFL club.
The team had no advance knowledge or input into the interview.
Sources said Jones’ reps at Creative Artists Agency have reached out to Fox about the situation.
“It’s become a huge deal,” said one source.
It was speculated whether Jones knew he was live on air or not, but Albert Breer revealed in his MMQB that he strongly believes Jones didn’t know. “Along those lines, I have it on good authority that Jones had no clue that he was on national TV when he said to FS1’s Shannon Sharpe, ‘I’m outta there’ two weeks ago, which led to his trade request becoming public.”
It is required by law that Sharpe inform Jones he was live on television, but it seems insignificant now. The cat was pulled out of the bag, but the Falcons — especially Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith — handled the entire situation with class, and so did Jones. IT was unfortunate that the news broke as it did, but I don’t believe there was any ill-will from either party.
You must log in to post a comment.