Ben Baby, ESPN staff writer
Cincinnati—— bengal tiger quarterback Joe Burrowhis first public comments since taking office Home was broken into During Monday night’s game, Wednesday spoke about the extent to which he felt his privacy had been violated.
Before answering questions at his usual midweek press conference, Burrow issued a statement addressing a burglary that occurred at his Cincinnati-area home while the Bengals were on the road. dallas cowboys.
“I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one and there have been far more instances than I would like to share,” Burrow said, hinting that he would not answer any specific questions about the incident.
But in his limited comments about the situation, Burrow agreed that one of the more frustrating parts is the amount of information that is now part of the public discussion.
According to an incident report obtained by ABC News, the break-in was initially reported by model Olivia Ponton after she arrived at Burrow’s home and saw her bedroom window smashed. Police were contacted. A local television station also obtained footage via drone.
Burrow went to great lengths to protect his privacy throughout his career. But the Pro Bowl quarterback, one of the league’s richest and most popular players, admitted that while he understands attention is part of the job, it doesn’t make it any easier.
“We live a public life,” Burrow said. “One of my least favorite parts is the lack of privacy, which has been difficult for me to deal with throughout my career.”
The break-in is being investigated as a felony and is one of many similar incidents involving high-profile athletes. In November, a source told ABC News that the NFL and Other leagues yes FBI briefing about Targeted burglaries involving high-profile individuals For example kansas city chiefs‘ patrick mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Burrow declined to comment when asked how he felt about his future security.
When the Bengals first drafted Burrow in 2020, he said he began to isolate his personal and professional lives. Burrow admitted the break-in made it more challenging.
“This week was definitely difficult, but for the most part I was pretty good at it, considering during the season you don’t really have a personal life,” Burrow said. “That’s football. Obviously, things happen that you don’t expect and when those things happen you try to deal with them quickly and be able to get out of it and focus on the ball.”
Although the Tigers (5-8) have a bleak playoff outlook heading into Sunday’s road game against the Bengals Tennessee Titans (3-10), Burrow is in the middle of his career. He currently leads the NFL in passing yards (3,706), passing touchdowns (33) and ranks second behind only in overall quarterback rating (74.1) buffaloof Josh Allen.
In addition to the burglary, Burrow also injured his left knee in Monday’s 27-20 win over Dallas.
Cincinnati held a drill Wednesday night. If this were a practice, the team estimates Burrow’s participation would be limited. But after the meeting, he said it was not a major issue.
“Things are getting better,” Burrow said. “I’ll be ready to go.”
As for preparing to face the Titans and coach Brian Callahan, Burrow’s offensive coordinator for the past five seasons, he said Cincinnati is trying to end the year with a win in a disappointing season. Short-term training is a bigger challenge.
“No one win is going to solve anything right now,” Burrow said. “Not having a win right now can impact a lot of different things. So we’re just focused on going out and trying to play well, trying to get a win on Sunday and keep trying to get better.”
