The mascot didn’t see it coming.
Jamal Adams insists he didn’t mean to injure the New Englands Patriots’ mascot but took great pride in tackling Pat Patriot at Wednesday’s Pro Bowl Skills Challenge.
Adams, of the New York Jets, took out the mascot for his team’s AFC East rivals and announced that “this one is for every Patriots hater out there! I got y’all!”
This one is for every Patriots hater out there! I got y’all! pic.twitter.com/q0WAbDfrpL
— Jamal Adams (@Prez) January 24, 2019
Pat Patriot only saw Adams at the last second before he was taken down and, apparently, the mascot ended up in the hospital following the tackle.
“He was running around and everybody was booing him,” Adams told ESPN. “So I said, ‘You know what? Let me go tackle him.’ I didn’t hit him that hard, man. All jokes aside, I didn’t hit him that hard … but they did tell me he’s in the hospital.”
The Patriots will contest Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams next week and so didn’t send any players to take part in the annual Pro Bowl festivities. Their mascot could most definitely have done with the back-up.
Adams has admitted that the NFL are not happy with him for leaving Pat Patriot sore but New England had the perfect response to the incident.
Hate us cause they ain't us 👋 https://t.co/8UxlYbAZ75
— Pat Patriot (@PatPatriot) January 23, 2019
“At the end of the day, we were out here just having fun and it wasn’t nothing intentionally to try to hurt the guy,” Adams said.
We wish the guy in the suit a speedy recovery ahead of next weekend’s Super Bowl but he was replaced by someone else for the remainder of Wednesday’s activities.
#StillHere and having some fun at the #ProBowl 👍 pic.twitter.com/B0Br6x7Lks
— Pat Patriot (@PatPatriot) January 24, 2019