Hugh Douglas is not buying the narrative that Philadelphia fans are harsher on their pro athletes than any other city.
"I'll say this because I spent eight years in Atlanta," Douglas said on Thursday's 94WIP Midday Show with Joe Giglio. "This fan base is unique in the sense that they're ride or die throughout the whole year. But to say we're more harsh is ridiculous, because two weeks into this season in Atlanta they were talking about firing Arthur Smith. So I've been on both sides of this, trust me on this. This fan base is different, yes it is, but everybody—when things go bad—talk about firing their coach.
"So, I don't want to hear that, 'Oh we're way [too] harsh!' Because I've heard that a lot in the last couple days man, from former players, from players, talking about how tough it is to play here. Guess what, it is tough to play everywhere. I played in Jacksonville too and I didn't play well and guess what, they were killing me every day, every day in Jacksonville. So miss me with that, 'It's harder to play here'—it's hard to play everywhere. The biggest difference here is that when you're playing bad you hear about it at the grocery store. People come up to you and tell you you stink, that's the biggest difference. I didn't read the paper in Jacksonville because I already knew what was being said about me so it wasn't no need for me to double down—and another thing. A lot of guys nowadays are snow flakes. They read every comment about them and they try to respond to it, which is hey that's a part of the new social media thing right now so whatever. Miss me with that narrative that it's way worse here than it is everywhere else. It is way worse everywhere in the NFL or for any professional athlete."
The Eagles have lost four of five games, but are still 11-5 and will reach the playoffs for a third consecutive year. Despite reaching the Super Bowl last season and the playoffs in all three of his seasons as Eagles head coach, Nick Sirianni appears to be on the hot seat with at least some fans and media in Philadelphia. Furthermore, A.J. Brown—who refused to speak publicly for weeks—finally broke his silence on Wednesday.
Douglas, 52, played for three NFL teams—the New York Jets, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. His best years came as an Eagle from 1998-2002, where he was a first-team All-Pro (2000), a second-team All-Pro (2002) and a three-time Pro Bowler.
After playing in the NFL, Douglas worked for 92.9 The Game in Atlanta from 2015 until 2023, when he joined Giglio on the 94WIP Midday Show.
