Former Eagles first-round draft choice Shawn Andrews (73) claimed on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia Friday that Donovan McNabb bullied him in a similar fashion to Richie Incognito's alleged actions.
While Chip Kelly made it clear Thursday that the Philadelphia Eagles do not take part in the kind of hazing that allegedly has taken place between Miami Dolphins' offensive linemen Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin, one former Eagle said Friday that that hasn't always been the case.
One of the more troubling and disappointing case studies around the Eagles in recent years is the rapid decline of former first-round draft choice Shawn Andrews.
Friday, Andrews drew a comparison between Incognito's treatment of Martin to hazing that Donovan McNabb put him through during his playing career.
"I think this situation is horrible, it deserves no place in football," Andrews said of Incognito during an appearance on The Mike Missanelli Show on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia. "Check this out, I came to Philadelphia with an open mind and I just stepped back watching how guys work for quite a while and from the first time I stepped foot in there some guys didn't receive me.
"There are clicks in the locker room. I worked with a lot of guys that didn't have everybody's best interest at heart. The only guy I could flat out trust on that team was Brian Dawkins."
The University of Arkansas product told Missanelli on Friday that he felt bullied in the locker room, by none other than McNabb.
"Would you want to go to work every day and put your body on the line every day and the guy you were trying to protect was saying things about you that weren't true? If I was a guy who was one of the first to get a $100 million contract, I've got endorsements, I'm on commercials, is that not enough attention in itself?
Andrews struggled with weight issues throughout his career to the point of leaving the team at the end of June 2008 and then mysteriously refused to report to training camp despite not being excused.
Eventually Andrews did return and asked Andy Reid for the chance to address his teammates.
"After my whole debacle and when I finally decided to come back to Philadelphia and I went into coach Reid's dorm room and told him I wanted to look at every teammate and every person on the staff in the eye and explain my side of the story, he gave me the floor as long as it took for me to say what I wanted to say. How would you feel if the leader of the team would roll his eyes and blow you off while you're pouring your heart out?"
Andrews claimed that he confronted McNabb about his actions but the quarterback denied them. Ultimately Andrews realized that the situation in Philadelphia wasn't salvagable.
"I went and asked coach Reid for a trade. I asked him for a trade. It goes far beyond the locker room. People think that it's a band of brothers and these are my co-workers but you can't trust anybody."
Listen to the full interview here: http://www.975thefanatic.com/teams/eagles/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10611368
Matt Lombardo is the Editor-In-Chief of Eagledelphia and also an on-air personality on 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia. Join the conversation and follow Matt on Twitter.
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