Philadelphia Eagles ace Darius Slay has criticized the NFL’s decision to stage a fixture in Brazil as his team prepares to face the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo on Friday.
The Eagles will take on the Packers at the Corinthians Arena on Friday in the first NFL regular season game ever staged in South America as the league extends its reach into new international territories.
However Eagles cornerback Slay admitted on his “Big Play Slay” podcast that while he was looking forward to the game, he was apprehensive about crime in Sao Paulo.
“I’m looking forward to it, can’t wait, but man — I do not want to go to Brazil,” Slay said on the podcast.
“You want to know why? I’m going to tell you why. They already told us not to leave the hotel. They told us we can’t do too much going on, because the crime rate is crazy.
“I’m like ‘NFL, why would you want to send us somewhere with a crime rate this high?'”
Slay added that he had advised his family and loved ones not to travel to Brazil as he did not plan on leaving his hotel.
“I told my family do not come down there because I’m not going to be nowhere to be found,” Slay said. “I’m going to be in my hotel chilling, minding my own business after a long nine-and-a-half hour flight.”
Slay’s remarks echoed comments by Eagles team-mate A.J. Brown, who said last week that players had been issued with a “whole bunch of ‘Don’t do’s.'”
“So I’m just trying to go down there and win a football game, and come back home,” Brown said. “But after hearing all this stuff, I’m probably going to be in my room,” the receiver added.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said on Sunday his players were focused solely on coming away with a win as they kick off their 2024/2025 campaign.
“We’re going there to play and win a football game,” Sirianni said. “That’s our only goal as we go down there. It’s just getting everybody in the right mindset of what you need to be when you go down there. You can control the things that you can control.
“We’re going to Brazil to play. That’s what it is. We’re excited about that.”
Friday’s fixture in Sao Paulo marks the second game of the 2024-2025 season, which opens on Thursday when the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens.
