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Grandmother didn't like it Sharpe apologizes for calling Marino 'a loser'
Posted: Wednesday January 13, 1999 07:41 PM
DENVER (AP) -- After being admonished by his head coach and his 77-year-old grandmother, Shannon Sharpe admitted he misspoke. Sharpe, Denver's loquacious tight end, offered a public apology Wednesday to Miami quarterback Dan Marino, whom he labeled as "a loser" following the Broncos 35-point win over the Dolphins in last week's AFC playoff game. "Dan, if I offended you, your family, your wife, your kids, your mother, your father, your brothers and sisters, I stand before you and I sincerely, sincerely apologize," Sharpe said. "The way you feel about me as a player, I can understand. Whether you like or dislike me, I can live with that. But I would never want you to dislike me or disrespect me as a person. ... I'm sure you will get this message as you have all the other messages that I have sent." The animosity between Sharpe and Marino began last summer when Sharpe was asked to compare Marino with Broncos quarterback and 1983 NFL Draft classmate John Elway. Sharpe suggested Marino's best days are behind him by saying Elway "doesn't want to be like another quarterback I won't name, but he's a guy who plays in the southern part of the United States who is no longer the player that he was." Marino shot back in September, referring to Sharpe as "Stanley," and said Elway is the main reason Sharpe has been selected to seven Pro Bowls. Things remained quiet until last Saturday when Denver beat Miami 38-3, eliminating the Dolphins from the AFC playoffs. After the game, Sharpe walked into a group of waiting reporters and declared: "Don't ask me about Marino because I don't talk about losers." Sharpe's comment drew criticism from Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who said he was disappointed in his veteran tight end. Even Sharpe's grandmother, Mary Porter, who helped raise Sharpe, scolded him during a phone call earlier this week. She said Marino's feelings were probably hurt and that Sharpe should never say such mean things about anyone. "I wasn't calling Dan Marino a loser," Sharpe explained Wednesday. "I was saying I didn't want to talk about anybody that had lost the game, so therefore I didn't want to talk about Dan Marino or anybody else on that ballclub." Marino is the NFL's career passing leader with 58,913 yards and is sure to be a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee. Though he is still without a Super Bowl ring after 16 seasons, Marino's resume is hardly lacking. "It got misconstrued," Sharpe said, "or the way I said it may have seemed that I was calling Dan Marino a loser, and in no shape, way or form would I ever do that."
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