Former Washington Redskins linebacker Junior Galette believes he is being blackballed from the NFL for speaking out about the league’s systematic racism.
Galette told TMZ the Redskins withdrew an offer in 2018 after he spoke against white players with similar skill set being paid more than black players.
“My teammate, who happens to be a white guy from Stanford, was offered 500% more guaranteed money than I did after he came off of a torn ACL and basically was suspended from PEDs. I spoke out about the paid inequality, the Redskins then withdrew my offer. I haven’t played a down since then.”
The teammate he is referencing is Trent Murphy. Murphy, a product of Stanford. He was suspended four games in 2017 for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing substances. He shortly suffered a season-ending torn ACL.
However, Murphy landed a three-year, $22.5 million deal with the Buffalo Bills. His deal included a $10.375 million guarantee, according to Spotrac.
Meanwhile, Galette had three sacks in 2017, his first season of play since 2014. He had missed all of the 2015 and 2016 seasons after suffering torn Achilles in back-to-back offseasons.
The Redskins still showed interest in 2018, but Galette sought more money than the $10 million Washington offered. The Redskins withdrew the offer. In an 2018 interview with 106.7 the Fan, Galette admitted he regretted turning down the offer.
“My agent and I thought we could get a lot more money on the open market, which I basically regret right now. I should be in someone’s facility right now. It was clearly a bad call.”
Galette said in the interview
The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks showed interest but no deals came to fruition. When asked in 2018, Rams head coach Sean McVay declined to state the reason for not signing Galette.
Galette has been showcasing workouts via his social media with hopes of being signed by a team.
Galette recently penned an open letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, asking the league to adopt policies that reflect the bedrock laws. Galette says far too often the NFL penalizes players from encounters with law enforcement before the legal process is completed.
