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It’s been more than 15 years since Corey Dillon took his final snap in an NFL uniform, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest most football fans don’t really spend a lot of time thinking about the running back aside from when they’re scrapping their mind while partaking in the time-honored pastime of Naming Some Guys.
However, it seems like Dillon may be gearing up to make sure you don’t forget him.
That’s the message he made very clear during a recent interview with Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic—a conversation that was intended to supplement another piece the writer was working on but earned its own article for reasons that become pretty evident once you hear what Dillon had to say.
As Dehner notes, the man who was drafted by the Bengals with the 43rd overall pick in 1997 amassed a pretty impressive résumé over the course of the ten combined seasons he spent in Cincinnati and New England, but he hasn’t really gotten the kind of attention and respect other players with similar stats have managed to garner over time.
Dillon’s time in Cincy wasn’t without some controversy; in 2000, he infamously stated he’d rather flip burgers than accept what he viewed as a lowball contract offer.
With that said, he certainly believes he contributed a great deal to the franchise and is not thrilled that hasn’t been reflected in the form of the Ring of Honor induction he insisted he deserved while ripping into the season ticket holders he asserted are depriving him of the achievement.
Dillon positioned the supposed snub as “damn-near criminal” while acknowledging he may have rubbed some fans the wrong way but arguing:
“Nothing should negate what you do on the field because that’s where it’s actually done. I don’t know where this thing got out of context to on-the-field work versus off-the-field work and being a latter-day saint. S***, none of us are.
I’m a God-fearing, Christian man. And I got issues, and I know everybody else do, too. So, there’s nobody running around here perfect. Everybody has something they aren’t proud of. People are running out of excuses.”
He also took issue with the Bengals leaving the Ring of Honor voting in the hands of the fans, saying:
“That’s garbage. This should be solely predicated on the authorities of the Bengals. The owner. The president. Whatever. There should be a special committee. This ain’t a popularity contest. This is football. You are going to put in somebody who is more popular than somebody who got stats?
Bengals are smart. I give it to them. We will put it in the hands of the season ticket holders so they don’t have to take that backlash over who the voters are picking. That’s bulls***. The s*** should come straight from the team. Half these season ticket holder people never seen half of us play.”
That rant probably isn’t going to endear Dillon to the people he needs to get on his side, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t respect his honesty.