New England Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson was benched for two possessions during the team’s game against the Washington Commanders and didn’t make the trip for the team’s game against the Indianapolis Colts in Germany, and now we know why.
During an interview with Mark Daniels of masslive.com, J.C. Jackson revealed that his absence from the team’s roster in Germany was a form of punishment for missing multiple bed checks at the Patriots’ team hotel the night before the Patriots took on the Commanders.
“What happened was I didn’t travel with the team to Germany. It was a punishment on my behalf, and that’s what it was,” Jackson told Daniels. “I didn’t take it any other way than: This is punishment, and I hope you learn from it and grow from this mistake I made. And I’m here now, so hopefully that won’t happen again. It was all my fault. I made a mistake. That’s what you’re going to get from Bill. That’s one thing about him: He’s going to discipline [you] no matter who you are.”
Jackson seemed to take the punishment maturely, allowing it to serve as a reminder that he is no more important than anyone else on the roster.
“Reality check: I’m not bigger than the team. I’m not bigger than nobody in here,” Jackson said. “This is a team sport, and I have to do whatever everybody else is doing. I want to be a part of the team. This is my team. This is home for me, man. This is where I want to be. I don’t want to go nowhere else. I want to finish my career here also. I’ve just got to continue to build that leadership each and every day. It just stinks for me. I kind of played a lot of football. I know what to do at this point.”
It’s clear that Jackson has learned from his punishment and intends to be a better teammate as a result.
[Masslive]
