Ed Reed: 'We don't get treated the way we want to get treated' by NFL

When Ravens safety Ed Reed wants to make a point, he's going to make it.

And with the regular referees returning Thursday night, Reed voiced his opinion again.

Reed again took issue with the NFL and how it treats its employees, saying there are a lot of unseen issues that take place behind the scenes. When asked about the officials reaching an eight-year deal and returning to the playing field, Reed unleashed new material for the powers that be in the NFL, and here it is in its entirety:

“We don't get treated the way we want to get treated. When we speak out and say the things that we should say, or the truth that we speak, we get criticized. It is what it is. I'm glad those guys got back on the field, and got what they deserved. People are going to be people. They're going to judge you the way they judge you. You guys are going to write what you want to write.

"You're going to say Ed Reed is whining but I'm the one out there playing my heart out and not getting what I deserve. I know the business and you don't see the work that we put into it. You don't know the investment that we put into our bodies. You don't know how we get treated and talked to. You don't know the behind the scenes of what those referees were going through being locked out.

“But we think that regular old Joe, division two and division three guys can come in here and do a good job. There was a lot of pressure on those guys, and I commend them, that they came in and did what they did. Not every call is going to be a great call, even the guys that were out there today didn't make every call. It's good to see those guys back out there. I shook a bunch of hands tonight and had a lot of jokes. It felt good having those guys out there again just talking to us.”

Point made and point taken.

Reed and Ray Lewis both walked up to head referee Gene Steratore during pregame warmups, welcoming him back to the NFL playing field.

“I think they understood how much we were fighting for them as players and how much we really respected their jobs and what they do,” Lewis said. “So I think having the guys back there was more real conversation between each other. Whether the calls were good or bad, you were really able to relate what was going on.”


(cbssports.com)