Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. arrived at rookie camp wearing former University of Miami star Warren Sapp’s No. 99 Buccaneers jersey, according to ESPN.
A person with knowledge of the situation told ESPN that Bain planned the tribute on his own and that the team did not provide the jersey. The report says Bain even wore the jersey backward so Sapp’s nameplate would be prominent.
The gesture drew attention because Bain has known Sapp since Bain attended Miami Central High School and because both players starred at the University of Miami, the report says. It notes that prior to Bain being drafted with the 15th pick, Sapp was the last Miami player selected in the first round by the Buccaneers. Bain said that on draft night Sapp texted congratulations and told him, as Bain put it, “This his city.”
The color of the black Reebok jersey carried additional significance, the report says. The Buccaneers have never worn black jerseys in a game, and although black Bucs jerseys were available at retail in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Reebok’s NFL uniform contract began in 2002. Sapp left the team after the 2003 season and Reebok stopped manufacturing NFL jerseys after the 2011 season, so the report says the jersey Bain wore might predate him and underscores his die-hard fandom.
The report also framed the tribute in terms of the type of player Tampa Bay has sought to bring in. Sapp, a 1999 Defensive Player of the Year and a pillar of the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl XXXVII defense, represents the edge and “mean streak” the team’s general manager and coach have valued, per the report. Bain said, “I think I always had that kind of mindset,” adding that he plays with a “head on fire” mentality as he begins his rookie-camp participation.
