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Is Darius Slay's appearance on rival Micah Parsons' podcast a problem?

Is Darius Slay's appearance on rival Micah Parsons' podcast a problem?

James Jones is not a fan of Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons and Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay doing a podcast episode together. Actually not at all.

On Tuesday's episode of FS1's “The Facility,” the co-host and former Green Bay Packers wideout shared his thoughts on the NFC East rivals appearing on “The Edge with Micah Parsons” podcast, concluding with a very blunt statement: “I hate everything about it.”

“The competitive nature of our game is increasing,” Jones told co-hosts Emmanuel Acho, LeSean McCoy and Chase Daniel.

“Everyone's worried about that fame, the stardom and all that. Nobody's worried about the competition anymore… There are no rivalries in football.”

There may be some in the Eagles locker room who agree with Jones. After Slay and Parsons spoke to Slay's fellow cornerback CJ Gardner-Johnson about Parsons' on-field behavior, Gardner-Johnson posted what appeared to be a response on his Instagram Story: “Damn…”

Slay later said he had to turn off social media notifications because of the major backlash he received for his participation on Parsons' podcast, but defended his decision to do so by saying that as team captain, he had “completely other” leadership qualities and leaves the “yelling” behind “aspect of team leadership for Jalen Hurts.

“I agree with you, man, I want to kick the Cowboys every time,” Slay said. “But I have a life outside of football.”

Former Eagles linebacker and current broadcast analyst Seth Joyner also criticized Slay for being on the Parsons podcast. He called it a “cardinal sin” and even suggested that the veteran Slay should lose playing time to some of the Eagles' younger defensive backs.

Jones, a Super Bowl XLV champion with the Packers, further recalled the behavior of rival players “back in the day.” He shared a few stories from older players, including former NFL defensive back-turned-Packers scout Sam Seale about how he prepared to face a nemesis.

“I always remember the old school players, everyone always said, 'Man, we were awesome.' They were right – they were a lot more dogs than us. They played much harder! A lot more rivalries. A lot more competition,” Jones said.

“I had a conversation with Sammy Seale. He said, 'I used to grow my nails really long because the receiver would have scratches on his neck at the end of the game.'”

Problem with Micah Parsons having Darius Slay as a guest on his podcast? | The facility

Problem with Micah Parsons having Darius Slay as a guest on his podcast? | The facility

A sign of respect that has been popularized by the newer generation of players in many sports is exchanging jerseys after a competitive game.

For Jones, this gesture is just one of the reasons there are no rivalries in the NFL anymore.

“It’s just different these days, man. We're trying to swap jerseys. The backup quarterbacks swap jerseys, running backs, the punters. There are no rivalries in the league, not anymore. I know it sounds crazy, but it starts with this little stuff here,” Jones said.

One thing Jones fears about the Parsons-Slay podcast collaboration is that it will serve as a gateway to changing the way competitors retrospectively see and talk about each other. In his eyes, this will harm the competitiveness of the game.

“So you’re basically telling me, ‘Slay’ on your podcast, he goes out here and grabs Dak Prescott three times and so on,” Jones said. “You'll probably go on your podcast next week and say, 'Man, my dog.' “Slay was on my podcast. He had a great game.”

“I think that’s crazy. I hate everything about it because the competition and all that, to be honest with you in our game I think it's going down.”

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