Espn.com is reporting that Randy Moss, who was officially waived by the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday, may have alienated some teammates when he criticized a post-practice meal in front of the local restaurant owners who catered it.
Every Friday, the Vikings invite a local establishment to cater the team’s post-practice meal. Last Friday, it was a St. Paul, Minn., restaurant — a favorite of former Vikings center Matt Birk — that served chicken, pasta, ribs and other dishes.
While his teammates lined up to dig in, Moss lashed out, according to the report that first appeared on Yahoo! Sports.
Moss yelled “What the [expletive]? Who ordered this crap? I wouldn’t feed this to my dog,” a player who witnessed the incident said, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Gus Tinucci, co-owner of Tinucci’s Restaurant and Catering, which provided the spread in question, confirmed the report to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
“If [Brett] Favre would have had a ball, he would have beaned him right in the head. Favre looked at him like, ‘Are you kidding me?'” Tinucci told the newspaper.
Moss officially hit the waiver wire Tuesday afternoon, according to multiple reports. Teams will have until 3 p.m. CT on Wednesday to place a claim on Moss. The team with the worst record will win the claim. Winless Buffalo has the first shot at him, followed by Carolina and Dallas (Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday he will not claim Moss).
If Moss is not claimed, he will be free to sign a new contract with any team and the Vikings would be on the hook for the remaining $3.388 million on his contract. He’d then be available for around $450,000 and Moss could choose the team he would like to join.
Various league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and even the Patriots are among the teams possibly interested in claiming Moss.
The Vikings decided to cut ties with Moss on Monday, despite having given up a third-round draft choice to acquire him from the New England Patriots a month ago.
“This decision was made based on what we thought was in the best interests of the Minnesota Vikings, both in the short and long term,” coach Brad Childress said in a statement. “We wish Randy the best as he moves forward in his career.”
Segal said that Moss’ departure from the Vikings came as a shock and added that only Childress knows why Moss was sent packing.
The player who witnessed Moss’ food tirade called it “an uncomfortable moment,” adding that he felt Moss deserved to be cut after the incident, Yahoo! Sports reported.
“This wasn’t a chain — it was a mom-and-pop restaurant, and you could tell it was their best stuff,” the witness said, according to the report. “And [Moss] is at his locker saying, ‘You know, I used to have to eat that crap — but now I’ve got money.’ You just felt so sad for them. I had never seen anyone treated like that.
“And by the way, the food was actually really good.”
A source who was at a team meeting on Monday, in which Childress informed the Vikings that Moss would be leaving, said it was clear the coach was referring to Moss’ criticism of the locker-room meal when he said “This just doesn’t fit with how we treat people, how we talk to people and how we act,” according to Yahoo! Sports.
Information from Espn.com, Yahoo! Sports, The Associated Press and the St. Paul Pioneer Press contributed to this report.