Jeremiah Ratliff said he felt like ‘killing everybody’ the day Bears cut him
Earlier this week, reports said Jeremiah Ratliff was cut by the Chicago Bears when he showed up “in no condition to practice” and had animated arguments that led to him being removed from the facilities.
As it turns out, the confrontations were much more frightening than first reported.
The Bears sent Ratliff home, then right after that they cut the four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle. Ratliff returned and said he “he felt like killing everybody in the building,” according to a Chicago Tribune report that cited the police report from the incident. Ratliff left with his belongings, then returned again to get his cell phone. At that point, according to the Tribune, he said “I am the devil” and that he “wished staff member’s children would die.”
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He left the Bears facility after that, and the Bears called police for extra security because they believed Ratliff owned multiple firearms, the Tribune’s report said.
This reportedly wasn’t Ratliff’s first blowup at the Bears facility. Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman reported that on the Friday before the final game of last season, Ratliff was “behaving belligerently toward players and coaches” at practice, and wasn’t allowed to practice. Ratliff got even angrier, leaving but returning and destroying a game clock, “smashing it and kicking it,” and shoving an assistant coach to the ground. Amazingly, Freeman wrote, head coach Marc Trestman never intervened and even made Ratliff a captain for Sunday’s game.
Ratliff also had issues when he was with the Dallas Cowboys. Ratliff and owner Jerry Jones had a huge argument in 2012 and the two needed to be separated in the locker room.
While Ratliff has been a good NFL player, it’s clear now why the Bears moved on so suddenly.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
