At least one member of the Philadelphia Eagles is dreading his team’s upcoming game against the Green Bay Packers set to be played in Brazil.
The two franchises are set to be the first ever to take part in a contest in South America.
But not everyone is looking forward to the trek. On a recent episode of his ‘Big Play Slay’ podcast, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay made it clear that he’d rather not make the trip down to Sao Paulo for the game.
‘I do not want to go to Brazil. You want to know why? I’m going to tell you why,’ Slay said, via PHL Eagles Nation.
‘They already told us not to leave the hotel. They told us we can’t do too much going on, because the crime rate is crazy.
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay isn’t pleased with the idea of playing in Brazil
Slay has even told his family not to make the trip over fear of their personal safety
‘I’m like ‘NFL, why would you want to send us somewhere with a crime rate this high?”
Slay added that he’s so uncomfortable with the situation that he’s telling his family to not bother making the trip.
‘I told my family do not come down there because I’m not going to be nowhere to be found,’ Slay said.
Slay says he plans to spend the entire trip in his hotel, which is a similar sentiment to that of wide receiver A.J. Brown.
In an interview back in August, the Eagles receiver also indicated that he’d be getting used to his hotel during the trip.
‘We had a meeting yesterday with a whole bunch of ”Don’t Do’s,’ said Brown. ‘I’m just trying to go down there, win a football game & come back here. […]
He continued, ‘We’re not down there to see the city, this is not a vacation, this is a football game. […] Simple as just walking down the street with your phone in your hand… kinda crazy.’
‘After hearing all that stuff I’m probably gonna be in my room,’ he added.
Eagles wideout A.J. Brown has said he plans on spending plenty of time in his room on the trip
Meanwhile, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni says he’s focused on just winning the football game
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni says he understands the concerns of his players, but he doesn’t view the situation the same way.
‘We’re going there to play and win a football game. That’s our goal. That’s our only goal as we go down there,’ Sirianni said on Sunday.
‘And so, it’s just getting everybody in the right mindset of what you need to be when you go down there. You can control the things that you can control. Like, we’re going to Brazil to play. That’s what it is. We’re excited about that.’
It’s not just Philadelphia players that are concerned. Back in June, Packers running back Josh Jacobs expressed concern about what player safety would be like in Brazil, but he did later apologize.
For those Eagles players who are worried, fortunately they won’t be spending much time in Sao Paulo.
The Eagles flight is scheduled to land in the city around 10:00pm local time on Wednesday.
The team will then immediately fly back home after the game – meaning the team will be in Brazil for a little over 48 hours.
