Former NFL wide receiver Braylon Edwards was suspended from his Big Ten Network job over tweets about Michigan’s football team, and now he says he was drinking and tweeting.
Edwards, a former Michigan star who has feuded with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, tweeted his disapproval of Harbaugh’s team, particularly center Cesar Ruiz and quarterback Shea Patterson.
“Ruiz is weak, line is weak, shea is scared, f–king Michigan offense is so predictable,” Edwards wrote at the end of Michigan’s loss to Notre Dame. “Michigan football is sadly one thing……Trash.”
Edwards told the Detroit News that he knows he went overboard but he also thinks the substance of his criticism of the Michigan football program is valid.
“Was the original tweet a little excessive?” Edwards said. “I admit I was excessive and emotional and inebriated. Mix those together. But the focus of my tweets remains intact. I stand by that. I was over-excessive Saturday night at 10:29, but I don’t back down on my overall stance as an alum and a fan. I’ve always defended Michigan. Even this year, I was high on Michigan.”
Edwards has twice been arrested for drunk driving, and both times his blood alcohol level was recorded at 0.16 or higher, twice the legal limit of 0.08. So he acknowledged this isn’t the first time he’s gotten himself in trouble when he was inebriated.
“I’ve been through DUIs. I’ve been through so much, so I don’t care. I’m tough. I can eat this. It doesn’t bother me,” Edwards said. “The backlash doesn’t bother me. But ultimately, my thing is, we have to address the issue. They’re 0-17 against ranked teams on the road. You’ve had 40 games in [Harbaugh’s] tenure to figure it out. . . . I’m a Michigan alum waiting for them to turn the corner.”
Edwards was the third overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft and played eight NFL seasons, making the Pro Bowl in 2007. Harbaugh was the 26th overall pick in the 1987 NFL draft and played 14 NFL seasons, and later coached the 49ers for four years.
