Speaking for the first time publicly since his coaching suspension from his high school alma mater, Miami Northwestern, new Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said at training camp Wednesday that he was simply trying to protect his players.
"I'm protective, and I'm a father first before anything," said Bridgewater, who was suspended by the school for providing what were deemed impermissible benefits. "Those players became my sons."
Bridgewater said in a Facebook post soliciting donations that he paid $14,000 to conduct a camp for players with "three hot meals a day from local black owned restaurants and a snack on some of those days," $9,500 for matching clothing, $300 per week to paint the field, $1,300 a week for recovery trucks, $2,200 for the team's weekly pregame meal and $700 per week on Uber rides.