FOXBOROUGH – Jerod Mayo understands the importance of Patriots fans and understands why people are frustrated with this difficult season. That’s why he had to talk with Jahlani Tavai on Friday morning after the linebacker’s controversial comments.
On WEEI’s ‘Greg Hill Show,’ Tavai explained why he was frustrated and bothered to hear Patriots fans booing during their 40-7 blowout loss. After revealing that he told fans to “quiet down in a non-polite way” Tavai doubled down on his comments.
The veteran linebacker said fans are fans for a reason, they weren’t qualified to do Mayo’s job, and although he appreciates them “sometimes they just have to know their place and just understand that it’s a work in progress.”
After those comments went viral, Mayo spoke with the veteran linebacker before the Patriots practiced on Friday.
“I’ve handled that internally. We had a conversation about it. We’ll keep that in-house,” Mayo said. “I will say this – for the fans – I’ve said this before. I’m a fan of different things, too. Look, no one’s happy. No one’s happy with our record. No one’s happy where we are right now. The fans, look, they pay the bills. They come in here and demand us to go out here and perform well. We haven’t done that this year.”
Multiple players voiced their displeasure with fans following the Patriots loss to the Chargers. After that game, Davon Godchaux said fans could’ve had “better class” and called their fans to ‘Fire Mayo’ “ridiculous.”
Patriots captain Deatrich Wise had similar feelings.
“With all respect to Patriot Nation, they’re a little spoiled,” Wise said. “We don’t appreciate the boos. We don’t appreciate the outburst (against Mayo).”
Mayo said he talked to his players about the comments and the role fans play in New England.
“I’ve talked to the guys. Look, they’re getting caught up in trying to defend me,” Mayo said. “I’ve told them, I appreciate it but at the same time, the fans are one of the most important things here and they want to see good football and they want to see wins.”
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