NFL Network's Tom Pelissero recalls ex-Vikings wide receiver Jerome Simpson calling him a 'douchebag'
Tom Pelissero, the Minnesotan who has become one of NFL Network's premiere reporters, was a guest Friday on KFAN FM 100.3's Power Trip Morning Show and he retold the story of former Vikings wide receiver Jerome Simpson calling him a naughty word almost a decade ago.
Asked if he's ever been in a "really bad situation with a coach or a player," Pelissero recalled the time in 2014 when Simpson was upset with him before the Vikings played the Packers in the playoffs.
"There was the Jerome Simpson one which I think Vikings fans probably remember. He called me a certain word that I don't think we can say on the radio," Pelissero began.
The word: Douchebag.
Today, Jerome Simpson called me a "douchebag" to my face. I'll take that as progress. Whatever you need to motivate you, big guy.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 1, 2013
Why was Simpson upset with him?
"Was not the most productive time of his career," Pelissero said, then delivering joke by saying, "One would argue it was when he had 50 pounds of weed mailed to his house. That was fairly productive."
In 2011, while Simpson played for the Bengals, 2.5 pounds of marijuana was mailed to Simpson's home in Kentucky, according to charges. Authorities also discovered an additional six pounds of marijuana in his home along with "packaging materials, scales and smoking devices," according to ESPN.
"I had been writing very honestly about how the receiver group was struggling and he decided to take it out on me after the Week 17 Vikings-Packers game where Christian Ponder played the second half with a messed up elbow," Pelissero said, noting that he found out that Simpson called him a "douchebag" on camera in the locker room.
"Then after practice the next day, he comes up and goes, "Douchebag. You." In front of everyone," Pelissero continued. "Leslie Frazier called me that afternoon to apologize. This is during a playoff week. The next day, has Jerome, brings him over and makes Jerome apologize to me. Leslie is one of the greatest humans of all time. And then they played with Joe Webb and got murdered at Lambeau Field."
"It was just a very uncomfortable, weird type of thing," Pelissero concluded.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.