If you haven’t thought about Warren Sapp in a while, you’re not alone. We’ve all, to a man, woman and child, pretty much put the Hall of Fame defensive tackle and former NFL Network analyst out of our minds since he was fired in February of 2015 for soliciting and assaulting a prostitute.
Don’t worry if you forgot about it. There’s videos of his police interrogation all over Youtube.
One person who has been thinking about Sapp is Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan. Jernigan was a second round pick out of Florida State for the Ravens in 2014 and has had a solid career so far. He started eight games last year, played in 15 and recorded 18 tackles and four sacks.
For some reason Jernigan decided he’d like to honor Sapp by changing his number. After wearing No. 97 for his first two seasons, Jernigan wanted to change to No. 99 to honor Sapp. Sapp had evidently reached out to Jernigan back in 2014 after he’d slipped to the second round of the draft. Jernigan thought they were friends. He was wrong.
When the Ravens tweeted out Jernigan’s intentions, Sapp responded in a way only a true bag of douche like him would.
how do I stop this??
— Warren Sapp (@WarrenSapp) May 26, 2016
How does he stop this? Now, of all the reactions you could imagine from an actual sentient human being, I guarantee you “How do I stop this??” would be way down on the list.
Needless to say, Jernigan’s idea to honor Sapp went right down the toilet.
“Every now and then you come across those type of people in life,” Jernigan told ESPN. “I just can’t worry about that. I’m not worried about that guy. I’m not changing my number. And if you don’t want it to be about him, it doesn’t have to. At the end of the day it’s just a number.”
Sapp claims his reaction came from Jernigan not contacting him first.
“Got out and make a name for yourself,” Sapp told a reporter. “Don’t go and use a first-ballot defensive tackle that you will now be judged against. Are you kidding me? Who signed up for that?”
See, this is how Sapp still thinks of himself. Not the humiliated guy who got tricked by a couple of hookers and then got busted for it. I thought we’d check in on the “first-ballot defensive tackle” to see what he’s up to today. Back in 2013 this video appeared on Youtube and the advice this young girl gives her dad is something that maybe Sapp should take to heart.
Sapp retired from football in 2008, tried to start a business and immediately failed. His NFL Network monthly check of $45,000 was garnished by PNC Bank for $33,333. He’s still dealing with that.
Sapp is also in trouble with the IRS for not paying the right amount of taxes in 2008 and 2010. He owes Uncle Sam over $900,000, was sued for $876,000 in back child support and $68,738 in back property taxes.
In the face of all that Sapp filed bankruptcy. Sapp made over $82 million in his NFL career. When he filed bankruptcy he’d sold off his two University of Miami national title rings and his Buccaneers Super Bowl ring. He claimed he had less than $1,000 in the bank. According to the courts, Sapp had $6.45 million in total assets and a debt of $6.7 million. In 2012 he lost his house and it was auctioned off for $2.9 million.
Sapp put forth a plea deal to stay out of jail for his hooker fiasco in Arizona in 2015, but violated it when he was arrested again in Nevada just a few months later for assaulting his girlfriend, Chalyce Moore. The Arizona judge decided not to do anything about the plea violation, but in Nevada Sapp had to pay $2,895, take six months of domestic violence counseling and 48 hours of community service. He also had to steer clear of Moore and not get in trouble again for the next six months. As far as I can tell, he passed that mark and can assault at will. Yes, Warren Sapp is currently at large.
In the face of bankruptcy, destitution, arrests and public humiliation, Sapp recently served as a “coach and mentor” to prep football players at the Showcase Combine in Hollywood, Fla. Who better to hang out with young kids and teach them the finer points of hooker negotiations and the inner workings of the United States justice system?
It’s hard work staying out of jail and tricking parents into letting you be around their kids. Sapp should focus more on that than worrying about what actual NFL players are doing. Timmy Jernigan is going to be just fine. Sapp, well, God only knows.
