Antoine Winfield Sr., the father of Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield, furiously blasted the NFL in a scathing Instagram post following his son’s recent Pro Bowl snub.
Winfield was one of several notable snubs in this year’s Pro Bowl rosters, as many fans were shocked to see Winfield’s name excluded from the list of the 14 defensive backs going to Orlando next month.
Winfield, who only made it as an alternate, took a backseat to players that some deemed less worthy of Pro Bowl consideration, like the Arizona Cardinals’ Budda Baker, for one.
On Thursday, the day after Pro Bowl selections were announced, Winfield Sr. shared a post on Instagram comparing his son’s stats to Baker’s, and demanded a Pro Bowl ballot recount.
The caption, which tagged the NFL, read: “WE DEMAND A RECOUNT. somebody has some explaining to do!!! Ain’t NO WAY in HELL Buddha Baker goes to the ProBowl instead of My lil man with NO STATS. I know how important ProBowls are on the Resume & it just so happens to be his Contract year. We ain’t going for the Bulls---. Somebody Need to Holla at me.”
Winfield Sr.’s sentiments are not too egregiously misplaced despite his clear bias for his son.
The 25-year-old Bucs safety is currently ranked as the No. 2 safety in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus and beats Baker in four key defensive categories. Winfield, who’s set to enter free agency after this season, has recorded three interceptions, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and five sacks in 2023; Baker, playing on the 4–12 Cardinals, has zero stats in those categories.
Ultimately, Winfield Sr.’s concerns may be better directed toward football fans in general, since fan voting accounts for one-third of Pro Bowl ballots.
