“It was kind of my idea, keep the tradition going,” Johnson said. “I didn’t pay the whole bill. I got help from Todd [Herremans] and Evan [Mathis], so just something I did for them. Ain’t no big deal to me. I probably should have gave it some clarity. When I tweeted it out, all I said was ‘rookie dinner.’ And they think I got pressured into doing it – this, that and the other. But that’s alright.”
Kelce was drafted by the Eagles in 2011, two years before Johnson, and he said rookies picking up the check for a big dinner with veterans is an annual tradition. However, Kelce realizes that the situation in Miami last year, when Jonathan Martin left the team and Richie Incognito was suspended over hazing allegations that included pressuring Martin to pay for a vacation, it’s a sensitive subject.
“It’s something that usually you take care of in-season. It’s kind of like the rookie’s first outing with the whole team. He’s kind of made the team. It’s usually right after that 53-man roster has been made. And then it’s kind of like your first bonding experience as a group. Usually it turns out great, but since that Miami scandal, everybody’s on high alert with that stuff,” Kelce said.
The mess in Miami should have ended rookie hazing entirely. But it does still exist in the NFL, even if the players at that Philadelphia “rookie dinner” don’t think it was a big deal.
