New York Jets safety says his prank tackle during Pro Bowl festivities sent New England Patriots mascot to the hospital
- Jets safety Jamal Adams decided to have a little fun at the Pro Bowl on Wednesday, tackling New England mascot Patriot Pat from behind.
- On Thursday, Adams claimed that the NFL wasn't happy with him and that he had been told the mascot had been sent to the hospital.
- There's still no official word on the state of the mascot.
While the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams prepared for Super Bowl LIII, stars from the rest of the NFL are gathering in Orlando, Florida this week to prepare for and play in the Pro Bowl.
The exhibition is always a low stakes, light-hearted affair that at least provides players with a free vacation, if not an overly compelling game of football.
The one member of the New England delegation that did make it down to Orlando was team mascot Patriot Pat, who alongside other mascots from around the league, entertained fans who had come out to see the teams practice ahead of Sunday's game.
Jets safety Jamal Adams came across Patriot Pat on Wednesday and decided to deliver a big hit to his division rival's mascot.
The tackle was meant as a light-hearted joke, but Adams is an NFL athlete, and Patriot Pat is a man in a suit with limited vision that had no idea the hit was coming.
On Thursday, Adams said that the NFL was not happy with him and that the mascot had to be sent to the hospital.
ESPN's Michael DiRocco followed up with Adams, and the Jets safety again said the NFL upset with his antics.
Per DiRocco:
"Adams said he was told the person inside the mascot costume was hospitalized on Thursday morning, but the NFL has not yet confirmed that information. Adams said the NFL is not happy with him because of the incident. "He [the mascot] was running around and everybody was booing him, so I said, 'You know what? Let me go tackle him,' Adams said. "I didn't hit him that hard, man. All jokes aside, I didn't hit him that hard. I don't know what's really going on, but they did tell me he's in the hospital. My intention was never to hurt him. it was all about just a joke but I definitely want to check on him and make sure everything is good. At the end of the day we were out here just having fun and it wasn't nothing intentionally to try to hurt the guy."
Any other week and the Patriots might put together a plan of revenge aimed at Adams, but the team is currently a bit busy preparing for their third straight Super Bowl.
While there's still no official word on Patriot Pat's health, knowing what we do about Bill Belichick's liberal use of the injury report, we're going to guess he's listed as "questionable."
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