Browns receiver Jarvis Landry called Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters “a coward” for spitting at him behind his back during the Ravens’ 47-42 victory Monday night at FirstEnergy Stadium.
At the end of the first quarter, an ESPN camera caught Landry walking away and Peters coming up behind him, with spit visible. The shot was blown up in videos that have since gone viral.
“I wasn’t aware to it [until] after the game, obviously, but he’s a coward,” Landry said Thursday on a Zoom call. “He knew that maybe behind my back he could do things like that, but to my face he wouldn’t. Take it for what it’s worth and now I know. Everybody knows the type of player he is, the type of person he is and just move on from there.”
Landry said he saw the video after the game.
“Obviously losing the game, then after the game seeing that, but again, like I said, it’s cowardly,” Landry said.
A five-time Pro Bowler, Landry said he doesn’t have a history with three-time Pro Bowler Peters, who was traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the Ravens on Oct. 16, 2019. That December, Peters signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the Ravens.
According to TMZ.com, Peters also referred to Landry and his close friend, injured Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr., as homegirls in Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey’s postgame video on social media. The New York Post reported the video was on Instagram Live.
Beckham was lost for the season on Oct. 25, tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
According to TMZ.com, Peters appeared to say of Landry and Beckham, “So, we only had one homegirl this time."
"And, you know, she was upset 'cause she ... she was upset because the other homegirl couldn't really end up making it. Because my dawg hurt. Well, she hurt right now. And, we understand that and I respect that. But the one homegirl who was out there just needs to shut the f--- up until she gets back."
Landry seemed to make a reference to those comments from Peters, saying, "We don’t have a history, but for some reason he seems to have it out for myself and O [Odell]. Whatever his beef is, I don’t know, but if that’s what he want, he definitely got it.”
Spitting at an opponent is a sign of disrespect, but might take on more importance in the league's eyes as it tries to play through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I just think it’s cowardly,” Landry said. “I don’t think about it as protocol or anything like that. Again, you wait until I turn around and do something like that, it's like, do it to my face. Be a man about if you’re going to do something like that. I don’t know about protocols, but if there is a protocol for being a man, that sure ain’t it right there.”
Landry caught six passes for 52 yards and threw a 12-yard pass, while Peters was credited with five tackles and a forced fumble.
Asked if his battle with Peters was heated, Landry said, “We talked a little bit, but for the most part, it’s again, nothing that I lost sleep over. At the end of the day, he took it to a disrespectful point. We’ll see what happens from here.”
The NFL said it would have no comment on the incident on Thursday. Fines are usually disclosed on Saturday.
There is history between Beckham and Humphrey. In the Browns’ 40-25 victory at Baltimore in 2019, Beckham and Humphrey engaged in a fight in the third quarter and both were fined for unsportsmanlike conduct.
