While Bengals QB Joe Burrow was busy throwing for 369 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-20 Monday Night Football win in Dallas over the Cowboys, his Cincinnati-area home was being burgled. When TMZ broke the news on Tuesday, they included a few details that Burrow would have preferred to keep private.
Advertisement
Speaking on their daily YouTube news show, Nightcap, former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson had some theories on why Burrow was so bothered by the TMZ reports.
The tabloid not only reported that Burrow’s place had been burglarized but also who called it in – Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Olivia Ponton. Sharpe and Ochocinco joked that Burrow is so frustrated by the reports because he didn’t want the public to know about her. Sharpe said,
“Joe [Burrow]’s like, ‘hey, my privacy’s been invaded because I think the little shawty was the one that called the police.’ Joe didn’t want ya’ll to know about that shawty. I don’t blame him, but he don’t want people to know. That’s the problem.”
Neither Ponton nor Burrow are in public relationships with each other or anyone else, so there’s no scandal in that respect. However, it’s now out in the open, which is obviously not what Burrow wanted. Sharpe and Ochocinco also pointed out that TMZ did Burrow dirty by publicizing the specific name and occupation of the person that called the cops.
A police report obtained by TMZ Sports revealed that Ponton called it in at 8:14 PM, a minute before Burrow would take the field halfway across the country in Dallas on MNF. Upon arriving at the Cincinnati area home, Ponton noticed a “shattered bedroom window and the room ransacked”. She called her mother, who then alerted authorities.
While the nature of Burrow’s and Ponton’s relationship remains unclear at this point, the police report did list her as an employee of “Mr. Burrow”. Ponton later gave the police “a non-detailed itemization of what items were possibly missing”.
While Ponton hasn’t spoken about the incident, Burrow addressed the media on Wednesday, though he didn’t directly reference her during the session.
“I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one. And way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share, so that’s all I got to say about that…. We live a public life and one of my least favorite parts of that is the lack of privacy.”
Joe Burrow noticeably somewhat emotional in his opening statement on this week and a “lack of privacy.”
“Been difficult to deal with.”#Bengals @FOX19 pic.twitter.com/6aUWxgfyzc
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) December 11, 2024
The crime at Burrow’s residence is, unfortunately, not an isolated incident. Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, as well as Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman, Linval Joseph, all had their homes ransacked in similar scenarios. The same goes for Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley and Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis of the NBA.
Frighteningly, the league has indicated that these burglaries are likely linked to a transnational South American crime syndicate. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been in contact with the FBI about the string of robberies.
Joe Burrow will attempt to pick up the pieces after such a jarring incident and continue to roll on the gridiron.
While his Bengals are essentially out of the playoff race, Burrow has a great chance to win the NFL’s passing triple crown (passing yards, passing TDs, completion percentage). He currently leads the NFL in passing yards and TDs and is 6th in completion percentage. The Bengals take on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Week 15.
