In the wake of Christian Wilkins being released by the Las Vegas Raiders, analysts are still trying to understand what caused the rift between the two sides. It was originally reported that it stemmed from a disagreement over foot surgery. But now, the Raiders claim it was due to an alleged HR complaint the team received.
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That’s right, it’s not that Wilkins wouldn’t get surgery as to why he was cut. The team says, allegedly, he kissed a teammate on the top of his head in the locker room, and that teammate filed a complaint about it. The Raiders then decided to cut him because of the incident.
We weren’t born yesterday, though. Wilkins was still owed a significant amount of money on his contract. The team seemingly saw the alleged misconduct as a chance to get out of that deal, with the big kicker being that they wouldn’t have to pay him any more guaranteed money. And in response to the story about the kissing incident, former NFL veteran Marcellus Wiley called it what it is: a cover-up.
On his podcast, Wiley linked the media beef between Adam Schefter and Mike Florio to the real reason behind the kissing story.
“On Pat McAfee’s show, Adam Schefter, and this is all allegedly, from speaking to people inside the Raiders locker room, they say that Christian Wilkins playfully went to kiss a teammate on top of his head. They say that player took offense to it, and that’s what everybody’s been dancing around,” Wiley said.
It’s not the smartest thing to do in today’s society. You should never kiss someone anywhere without their consent. Even if it seemed playful to him, the person he did it to didn’t see it that way. That’s what matters.
Regardless, the story shifted attention from the idea that the Raiders cut Wilkins over a disagreement about having foot surgery. That’s why Wiley claimed it was all a cover-up.
“We heard reports that it was some kind of kissing incident. And then Mike Florio pushed back on that, on Adam Schefter’s Christian Wilkins report. That is definitely not the story that’s been making the rounds. I’m like, see, there’s a cover-up going on.”
Furthermore, Wiley isn’t the only analyst who finds the situation fishy.
Chris Simms on Wilkins
Chris Simms of NBC Sports also had some things to say in regards to Wilkins being cut recently. He couldn’t look past the fact that the reason for cutting him was one he hadn’t seen before.
“Really odd. I’ve never seen a guy get cut off a team, and they said, ‘We’re cutting off your guarantees,’ for kissing somebody on the head. Especially when it’s a defensive head coach in Pete Carroll,” Simms said on his show Unbuttoned.
The former NFL quarterback later argued that if the reason he was released was because of the foot injury, then Wilkins had a right not to want to get surgery.
“He has a right to have a second opinion and go to the doctor and do that. And opt for no surgery. That seems to be one of the things that I have heard is that the team wanted him to get surgery. He opted against it from a second opinion. I don’t know how much that disgruntled them,” Simms shared.
He’s completely right, Wilkins had the right to a second opinion. The fact that the Raiders seemingly cut him because they didn’t like his decision is a bit egregious. And playing it off like it was an HR complaint that got him cut is just a fool’s errand. We’re not stupid, Las Vegas.
All in all, it’s another reason why the Raiders have struggled so mightily to make any sort of deep run since going to the Super Bowl in 2002. They can’t get out of their own way. This was another decision made out of spite and emotion; that’s not how you should run an NFL organization.
Additionally, what does this tell future players when they’re in a contract negotiation with Vegas? All of a sudden, they’ve made it clear that they’re willing to go to extra lengths to nix a player’s guaranteed money. It’s not classy whatsoever, and future free agents will surely keep Wilkins in mind before signing a deal with the team.
