Tom Pelissero, the Minnesotan who has become one of NFL Network’s premiere reporters, was a guest Friday on KFAN FM 100.3’s Power Trip Morning Show and he retold the story of former Vikings wide receiver Jerome Simpson calling him a naughty word almost a decade ago.
Asked if he’s ever been in a “really bad situation with a coach or a player,” Pelissero recalled the time in 2014 when Simpson was upset with him before the Vikings played the Packers in the playoffs.
“There was the Jerome Simpson one which I think Vikings fans probably remember. He called me a certain word that I don’t think we can say on the radio,” Pelissero began.
The word: Douchebag.
Today, Jerome Simpson called me a "douchebag" to my face. I'll take that as progress. Whatever you need to motivate you, big guy.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 1, 2013
Why was Simpson upset with him?
“Was not the most productive time of his career,” Pelissero said, then delivering joke by saying, “One would argue it was when he had 50 pounds of weed mailed to his house. That was fairly productive.”
In 2011, while Simpson played for the Bengals, 2.5 pounds of marijuana was mailed to Simpson’s home in Kentucky, according to charges. Authorities also discovered an additional six pounds of marijuana in his home along with “packaging materials, scales and smoking devices,” according to ESPN.
“I had been writing very honestly about how the receiver group was struggling and he decided to take it out on me after the Week 17 Vikings-Packers game where Christian Ponder played the second half with a messed up elbow,” Pelissero said, noting that he found out that Simpson called him a “douchebag” on camera in the locker room.
“Then after practice the next day, he comes up and goes, “Douchebag. You.” In front of everyone,” Pelissero continued. “Leslie Frazier called me that afternoon to apologize. This is during a playoff week. The next day, has Jerome, brings him over and makes Jerome apologize to me. Leslie is one of the greatest humans of all time. And then they played with Joe Webb and got murdered at Lambeau Field.”
“It was just a very uncomfortable, weird type of thing,” Pelissero concluded.
