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Mike Golic spent eight seasons in the National Football League grinding it out in the trenches. So to see a player seemingly quit on a play that could’ve really helped his team bothered him deeply.
Speaking on Wednesday’s “Gojo and Golic,” the former player turned longtime on-air sports personality went in on Steelers wideout George Pickens for his Week 15 lowlight against the Colts, telling his son and co-host:
It really ticks me off … This one aggravates the hell out of me. You’ve got 10 people on that field busting their asses and you’ve got one guy that quits cause he’s thinking about himself and thinking ‘I might get hurt on this play. So I’m not going to continue with the block.’ … And he admits it! He admits he quit on the play because he was thinking about not getting hurt.
“You went out there and knowingly and selfishly quit on a play that was coming right at you … To admit that and to quit blocking when 10 other guys are busting their ass out there aggravates the hell out of me!”@golic on George Pickens not blocking for Warren vs. the Colts pic.twitter.com/5jVDqUxkHp
— GoJo and Golic (@GoJoandGolic) December 20, 2023
Golic wasn’t done.
You went out there and knowingly and selfishly quit on a play that was coming right at you … To admit that and to quit blocking when 10 other guys, as I said, are busting their ass out there aggravates the hell out of me! And that’s not old school, that’s not new school. No. That’s you have a job to do, that you practiced to do. That’s your man. Block him!
Pickens has been getting killed for his response that his critics are creating a “false” narrative about the play. Saying the reason he’s still battling for his reputation is because “[it’s] a lot guys that’s not playing the game of football. It’s just media guys having an opinion.”