Chicken salad or pizza: USFL head coach sparks controversy for firing player

A United States Football League (USFL) head football coach is at the center of controversy after a video surfaced online showing him firing a player over his food preference. 

The video clip, posted on social media over the weekend, showed Pittsburgh Maulers head coach Kirby Wilson meeting with running back De’Veon Smith in a hotel room at the league’s headquarters in Birmingham, Ala. 

Wilson, a former running back coach for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, proceeds to tell Smith that he was cut from the team due to violating protocols after asking to have pizza for lunch instead of the chicken salad that was served. Wilson noted that Smith’s disrespect toward team officials over the matter led to his dismissal from the franchise.

“He crossed the line, so we had to deal with it,” Wilson said in an interview. 

In a video of the meeting, Smith, a former University of Michigan standout, argued that he didn’t say anything that was disrespectful toward team officials.

“He said, ‘Is that going to be a problem?’ And I said ‘Yes,’ and that’s it. I walked away,” Smith told Wilson and other team officials in the meeting.  

“I didn’t think that was disrespectful, me saying yes. I don’t eat chicken salad. And I was like ‘Is there another option?,'” he said. “That’s all I said. I didn’t say no cuss words. Nothing. That’s all I said.”

Wilson thanked Smith for sharing his perspective on the matter, but then tells him that his time with the team is over.

The video clip is from the show “United by Football – A Season in the USFL,” a docuseries based on the first season of the upstart football league. 

“Hurt feelings are a distant second to the greater good of the team,” Wilson said in the docuseries.  “And we’ve moved on, turned that page and I’m happy we did it.”

Wilson faced intense criticism for his actions since the video was posted online.

“Straight bullshit!,” Former NFL player and ESPN analyst Marcus Spears wrote in a tweet. “This man trying to reach a goal and over some trivial shit like this you cut him!”  

Smith, who is currently a free agent, reiterated in a tweet that he did nothing wrong. “I SAID NOTHING DISRESPECTFUL OR DID ANYTHING DISRESPECTFUL!,” Smith wrote. 

The USFL returned over the weekend after a nearly four-decade hiatus. Former President Trump once owned a franchise during the league’s previous iteration.

In a statement, the Maulers doubled down on their decision to cut Smith, saying the running back was released for violating team rules and disrespecting a cafeteria worker, which wasn’t filmed on camera.

“Smith has subsequently reached out directly to coach Wilson to apologize, and asked to be reinstated to the Maulers’ roster,” the team said.

The Hill has reached out to USFL for comment.