Earl Thomas Does Not Regret Decision To Flip Off Pete Carroll

Former Seattle Seahawk and current Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas became widely talked about following a broken left leg he suffered against the Arizona Cardinals last September while with the Seahawks for flipping off Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll while being carted off the field. 10 months later, Thomas stands by his decision.

“I don’t regret my decision,” Thomas told ESPN’s Josina Anderson. “If my teammates felt like it was toward them, I regret that part. But I don’t regret doing that to Pete.”

Since the incident took place, Carroll and Thomas have not spoken according to Thomas. Carroll, however, harbors no ill will towards Thomas.

“People that are criticizing whatever happened don’t understand,” Carroll said. “This was an earth-shattering moment for a kid. He’s trying to play this game he loves, and all of sudden this happens again. He knew exactly what happened to him, so he went right to what it’s going to take to get back.”

After signing a four-year, $55 million deal with the Ravens in March, Thomas said this about his time with the Seahawks being all but over following the gesture.

“I think my time just ran out,” Thomas said. “Pete and the front office didn’t value me like they used to, and I just talked to Coach Carroll, and he was saying how he was trying to get me in the plans of getting a new contract. But I got hurt the next week. I think I hurt myself too by my actions getting carted off the field.”

The relationship between the Seahawks and Thomas began to sour the last offseason when Thomas skipped out on minicamp, training camp, and the preseason while he and the Seahawks were in the middle of a contract dispute. When Thomas broke his leg not even one month into the season, the soured relationship became expired.

“We got to walk with each other the rest of our lives because we won a Super Bowl together,” Thomas said. “But they’ll love you one minute and then hate you the next. That was our relationship.”