Ex-Patriot gets emotional about Belichick snub after Raiders win
People can have several different reactions to winning a professional football game. Some players hoot and holler, maybe even dance a little. Other players high-five or fist-bump each other to acknowledge their good play. In the case of former New England Patriot Adam Butler, he chose to cry after his Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Patriots 21-17 on Sunday afternoon.
His tears were not due to the joys of victory. Butler was upset that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick failed to acknowledge him before jogging into the tunnel, towards the Patriots locker room. The burning question this brings to mind is, “Who is Adam Butler?”
The best way to answer that question is to start with who Adam Butler isn’t. He’s not a Patriots Hall of Famer like Tedy Bruschi or Vince Wilfork. He’s not an NFL Hall of Famer like Richard Seymour. He’s not a player who spent more than 10 seasons under Belichick, like Julian Edelman. Butler played four seasons in New England, averaging less than two tackles per game.
He was on the roster for a Super Bowl victory, but does that entitle you Belichick love every time you meet? The answer is no. Belichick also passed up Jakobi Meyers on the field, and spent a grand total of 2 seconds telling his former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, “Good job”. Despite all this, Butler was stunned at the snub, telling reporters, “Not even congratulating me. You don’t tell me, ‘You look good’ or ‘You don’t look good’, whatever. ‘Kiss my ass.’ Something. But he didn’t say anything. So, kind of felt disrespected. It made me feel bad.”
I don’t know the back story between these two. Maybe they are pen pals who write to each other every week. Maybe when Butler was here, he and Bill would get together to watch Beaches every Friday night. Whatever their relationship, Butler definitely felt slighted by Bill heading off to the locker room without giving him a big bear hug and a friendship bracelet after a Patriots loss. Somebody reach out to Butler. He’s hurting right now.