We have a new clubhouse leader for quote of the year in sports, and it comes from NFL draft prospect Robert Nkemdiche. The Ole Miss defensive lineman was already a draft lightning rod for falling out of a fourth-floor window — an incident which led to marijuana possession charges. But then, in an ESPN feature published this week, he said this:
“No, it’s not. They’re like cats,” Nkemdiche said. “If someone comes over and is scared, I’ll put the panther away.”
Even with context, I assure you it is incredible.
That was Nkemdiche responding to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham after Wickersham had suggested it was insane that the 21-year-old wants to use part of his first NFL paycheck in order to purchase a panther as a pet.
Maybe he’s trying to sell himself to the Carolina Panthers. It’s more likely he’s just an oddball — which is the way he’s painted in the rest of ESPN’s profile.
That hasn’t traditionally been a good thing for NFL draft folks, who prefer players who are willing to conform rather than stand out, especially off the field. Talent trumps everything in this league, but a lot of teams undoubtedly look at Nkemdiche and see one giant red flag.
Nkemdiche won’t likely be a top-of-the-first-round pick, which means this could go one of two ways. Either somebody pulls off a coup late in the first round or in the middle rounds, and we all wonder how everybody missed on such a major talent merely because of some quirks, or he never gains focus and never delivers at the NFL level and we hear “I told you so” from every cranny of the football world.
Now we wait to find out who bites.
