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The Seahawks did not earn the right to participate in the NFL playoffs this season, and the fact that a number of players were spotted smoking cigars in the locker room after their fate was sealed rubbed some people the wrong way even though they had an explanation.
The Seattle Seahawks had the chance to punch their ticket to the postseason heading into their final game of the year sitting at 8-8, but didn’t control their own fate. They needed the Bears to walk away with a win over the Packers to have a shot, and while they took care of business against the Cardinals with a 21-20 win, the team ended up on the outside looking in after Green Bay prevailed.
That meant there wasn’t any reason to celebrate in Seattle, but after the contest, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune shared a video of a group of players enjoying some cigars in the locker room.
Cigars—but not playoffs—in #Seahawks’ locker room after last-game rally win at Arizona @thenewstribune pic.twitter.com/UTbXSk6jtX
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) January 8, 2024
That didn’t sit well with one former member of the team , as retired punter Jon Ryan hopped online to say, “The Seahawk way is a bit different these days I guess. I could say a lot of things right now because I’m shaking with anger but I’ll just say I’m really disappointed.”
The backlash eventually came to the attention of Seahawks safety Julian Love, who posted a message clarifying the situation, saying, “These cigars were given to me to celebrate the birth of my son & I waited until the end of the season to share a moment with my guys.”
While it’s kind of hard to blame Love for wanting to spark the stogies up, it does seem like he and the other players who partook could have picked a more appropriate venue.
According to The Seattle Times, Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner and head coach Pete Carroll seemed to echo that sentiment, with the former saying he declined to partake due to the circumstances and the latter questioning if it was the best move.
At the end of the day, this doesn’t seem like the kind of decision that should lead to someone “shaking with anger,” but Love and the rest of his cohorts could probably learn a lesson about the importance of optics.