Rams release statement after ex-player’s controversial military comment

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:45 p.m. ET

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Update (11:55 p.m. ET, 9/24): After practice Tuesday night, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said former offensive lineman Ty Nsekhe wasn't in the NFL because he's ''not necessarily a deep thinker, OK?'' Nsekhe responded to a tweet that NFL players shouldn't make more money than soldiers by tweeting back: ''It doesn't take much skill to kill someone.'' Fisher said he learned of the tweet just before practice and reiterated his disappointment, and the fact that Nsekhe is not with the team. The Rams said they don't usually comment on players no longer with the team, but made an exception in this case because the tweet was ''completely contradictory'' to the franchise's values. —The Associated Press  

  By Ross Jones, FOXSports.com Former Rams offensive tackle Ty Nsekhe made national headlines Monday, when he tweeted a controversial response about the military. Nsekhe was responding to Morgan Reed (@_Morganism_), who wrote that it’s “Hard to believe that a player in a helmet defendin’ a football makes more money than a soldier in a helmet defendin’ his country.” Nsekhe responded by saying, “it doesn’t take much skill to kill someone.” Nsekhe’s tweet was later deleted, but a screenshot was taken by Chris Loesch.

Typically when a player is no longer affiliated with a team, the franchise will deny a comment but the Rams were compelled to do so in this situation. “While it is typically not our policy to comment on players who are no longer with our team, in this instance we thought it was important due to the reprehensible comments toward our military,” the Rams said in a statement. “The opinions Nsekhe shared via social media are his own and are completely contradictory to the values of our organization and the priority we place on military and veteran appreciation.” Since Nsekhe made national headlines, he offered up a clarification on Twitter.

Some of the reports indicated that Nsekhe was an active member of the team, but he was in fact released in the final round of cuts on Aug 31. The Rams’ response was surely to distance themselves from the situation. In other news, the Rams plan to feature “All White Everything” uniforms Thursday night against the 49ers.

One Facebook commenter, Dan Creason, summed it up better than anyone in his response to the video: “The color of surrender. That’s fitting.”

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