Washington Redskins: Chris Thompson wary of Eagles fans

Washington Redskins running back Chris Thompson isn’t terribly fond of Philadelphia Eagles fans.

There’s no question that the Washington Redskins face a slew of passionate fanbases in the NFC East annually. However, they could be coming up against the most rabid of them all on Monday Night Football in Week 7. That’s when they head to the City of Brotherly Love to face the Philadelphia Eagles. Apparently Chris Thompson thinks they may go a bit too far in Philly.

ESPN’s John Keim reported late Wednesday evening that during an an interview on ESPN 980, Thompson expressed that he practically banned the family from coming to Monday night’s game in Philadelphia because he doesn’t want any conflicts with Eagles fans.

Here’s what Thompson had to say:

"“My family will be here this week, and they were like, ‘I want to come to the Philly game.’ I said, ‘Absolutely not, you’re going to have to wait until Dallas comes around.’ Because my stepdad, he’s a big guy and if he starts fighting, it’ll be real bad out there.”"

Thompson, who leads the team in rushing and receiving yards didn’t do the team any favors in certifying the rowdiness of the Eagles fans. All this does is enhance the rivalry.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s correct on wanting to keep his family safe and to avoid distractions off the field. I don’t think anyone wants to hear a family member got into an altercation at a football game.

But are Eagles fans really that bad? Ask NFL referee Pete Morelli. Thousands of fans have signed a Change.org petition asking Roger Goodell to ban the guy from officiating Eagles games.  According to originator of the petition, Will Philbrick of Little Rock, AK, Morelli has been exceptionally biased against the Eagles and Philly fans aren’t having it. So far, the petition has 70,944 signatures.

Next: NFL: 5 Teams on upset alert in Week 7

There’s also the fight that occurred when the Eagles played the Carolina Panthers Oct. 12. The Eagles won, 28-23, but that didn’t stop a Panther fan from punching an Eagles fan. According to reports, it began, like most fights in a stadium, as a shouting match.

So is there any legitimacy to Thompson’s statements? Of course. Then again, every stadium has its rowdy bunch.