NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 20: Head coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints reacts after a no-call between Tommylee Lewis #11 of the New Orleans Saints and Nickell Robey-Coleman #23 of the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter in the NFC Championship game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 20, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 20, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Saints fans are still bitter over the infamous “no-call” in the NFC Title game. But Head Coach Sean Payton may have taken things one step further at this morning’s press conference.
Sean Payton gave his season-ending press conference on Wednesday, speaking to the media for the first time since the night of the NFC title game. The New Orleans Saints have made no secret of their disappointment in the NFL after the referees of the NFC Championship missed a pass interference call against the Los Angeles Rams late in the 4th quarter. But at the press conference, Payton appeared to show another sign of retaliation.
Payton was wearing a quarter-zip shirt with a T-shirt underneath. A closer look from some investigative Twitter users revealed that Payton maybe wearing the famous Roger Goodell clown shirt created by Barstool Sports.
Barstool Sports created the shirt when owner Dave Portnoy took issue with the way Roger Goodell handled Deflategate. Portnoy has always been a controversial personality, but this isn’t the first time an NFL coach has worn the shirt. In February 2017, Matt Patricia wore the shirt as he was walking off the plane the day after Super Bowl 51.
Nor is this the first time Payton has taken issue with Goodell. Payton was suspended for the 2012 season after it was discovered that the New Orleans Saints paid players to try to hurt their opponents.
Payton denied knowing about the bounty.
Barstool has been banned from NFL-media events since they protested the NFL’s handling of Deflategate. Last night, Dave Portnoy was escorted out of a Super Bowl media event after he snuck in with a fake credential.
“I know if they actually threw me in jail again it’s such a bigger media story, so it doesn’t look good for them either,” Portnoy said. “I wasn’t nervous or anything. It just shows to me how dumb the NFL is and how dumb Roger Goodell is.”