In the midst of social media backlash and his coach Pete Carroll’s disapproval, Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams stood firm in defense of a now-deleted post where he responded to criticism from an NFL reporter regarding his performance.
The controversy began when the reporter, who had covered Adams during his tenure with the New York Jets before his trade to the Seahawks in July 2020, shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing Adams allowing a crucial touchdown pass in a 41-35 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The reporter’s accompanying comment was a simple “Yikes.”
Adams, feeling provoked, replied on X by posting a picture of the reporter’s wife along with the same comment: “Yikes.”
When confronted about whether his response had crossed a line, Adams defended his actions, emphasizing that disrespect should not go unanswered. He stated, “Oh, it’s always the athlete crossed the line when he responds. But at the end of the day, disrespect is disrespect. However you want to take it. So I responded. I knew when I did hit that tweet, I wasn’t in it to win it. At the end of the day, it was to get him to understand to leave me the hell alone.”
Adams revealed that he and the reporter had a history of animosity, stating, “He’s been going on saying a couple things since the trade, and obviously it’s been happening before that, and I just got fed up with it.”
In a separate incident, Adams also engaged with another New York reporter who had called him a bad person. Adams did not hold back, asserting that he responded in kind when provoked personally.
Coach Carroll acknowledged that he had discussed the deleted post with Adams and expressed the team’s disapproval, saying, “I don’t know if it was a great decision at the time… We don’t want to be a part of that.”
Adams, who is in his seventh NFL season and fourth with the Seahawks, had a shortened 2020 season due to injury, missing most of it with a torn quad tendon. Despite his recent controversy, he remains a key figure in the Seahawks’ defense.