Browns QB Baker Mayfield Leaves Press Conference After Argument With Reporter Tony Grossi

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield made waves on social media Wednesday when footage [...]

By John Newby

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield made waves on social media Wednesday when footage surfaced of him leaving a press conference early. There was a brief back-and-forth with longtime reporter Tony Grossi, which started with him asking Mayfield about the lack of urgency during the two-minute drill to end the first half of Sunday's game. The interaction continued until the Browns' QB walked out of his media availability with visible frustration on his face.

"When the penalty happened, we were behind the chains," Mayfield said to Grossi in reference to the 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots. "No, no, no. Stop saying 'but.' I just told you, the clock was running, and we had a penalty. Do you want to give them the ball back? No. You don't play, you don't know it. That's just plain and simple."

The back-and-forth did not end there, however, as Grossi asked if Mayfield was happy with the drive. In response, the second-year signal-caller said that this was "the dumbest question you could ask" before walking away.

This is not the first tense interaction between Grossi and Mayfield, as it turns out. The pair have not always seen eye-to-eye, especially during press conferences. There was also an instance when Grossi compared Mayfield to former Browns QB Johnny Manziel and said that he "was done" if Cleveland brought the former Oklahoma star in Mayfield to town.

In response to this comment, as well as Grossi later comparing Kyler Murray to Manziel, Mayfield posted on Twitter and called out the reporter for not retiring as he said following the 2018 NFL Draft.

The interactions have continued throughout various press conferences since Mayfield took over as the starting quarterback. Some have been fairly civil while others have been on the cusp of another argument.

With this combative history, it's expected that the majority of interactions between Grossi and Mayfield will draw considerable attention, which is one reason why Wednesday's presser made headlines. Mayfield is well aware of this fact and actually sent out a response on Twitter to give his side of the story.

"Everybody wants to hear the truth until they actually get it.... I am who I am and always have been," Mayfield wrote. "Don't call it emotional when it's convenient and then passion when it fits. I care about winning, so yeah I'm frustrated. If I was to act like it's okay to lose, then y'all would say that I've gotten complacent. My sense of urgency is at an all time high. And if I offend anybody along the way... that's too bad."

Photo Credit: Omar Rawlings/Getty

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