Joe Thomas’ classless response to Browns fan dousing Titans players with beer

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 22: Joe Thomas #73 of the Cleveland Browns leaves the field after an injure against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 22, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 22: Joe Thomas #73 of the Cleveland Browns leaves the field after an injure against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 22, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas showed no class in his response to Tennessee Titans players getting doused with beer by a fan.

I lost all respect for former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas after his response to the controversy of Tennessee Titans players getting doused with beer by a fan of the team he used to play for.

We all know the story: Malcolm Butler picked off a Baker Mayfield pass, took it to the house, jumped up on the railing of the wall beyond the end zone to celebrate with a Titans fan, and then had beer sprayed at both he and his teammates who joined him.

In the world that Thomas lives in, this kind of behavior is acceptable, or at least that’s what his response to this situation tells us.

The line about a violation of league rules is the weakest argument in favor of assault I have ever seen. Do better, Joe.

The level of salt from the Browns fans — and apparently a former player — has been epic in this situation after their little hype train was completely derailed on Sunday.

Pouring beer on someone is almost as bad as spitting on them, and this is the kind of classless behavior both fans of the team and a former player condone?

And where do we draw the line? If this is acceptable, in what other ways are fans allowed to assault players?

Thomas, who undoubtedly had an illustrious career as a great offensive lineman, should be better than this. I’d love to see his response, whether he was celebrating like that on the road or at home, to someone throwing beer in his face.

I’d bet my life on it he wouldn’t like it, and as a former player, he should sympathize with fellow players who are disrespected in such a manner. Thomas should be ashamed of himself for that garbage response.

Browns fans are having a rough week. Not only was their team absolutely leveled by the Titans in Week 1, but now they are showing zero class in the collective responses I’ve seen to this situation.

Thankfully the organization itself doesn’t condone this behavior. The Browns released a statement on Tuesday night announcing an indefinite ban for the idiot who did this.

Good for the organization, now if only they can rein their own people in, like Joe Thomas.