Former New England Patriots player Rich Ohrnberger recalls purposely crashing his car to avoid being cut from the team.
On Thursday, the former lineman shared an exciting story about his time with the NFL team. Ohrnberger says the crash happened because he was late to a meeting with the Patriot’s general manager Bill Belichick.
Ohrnberger stated that his phone died in the middle of the night, which caused his alarm not to go off. Eventually, Ohrnberger woke up, and he rushed to his car.
However, during his drive, Ohrnberger realized that he would be 10 minutes late for the team meeting. Ohrnberger feared his delay would be why he was dismissed from the team. So, instead of facing the consequences, Ohrnberger came up with the idea to purposely crash his car into another vehicle to have a valid excuse for being late.
Ohrnberger says he didn’t hit the vehicle hard but just enough to leave a dent in his own car so he could provide evidence. Ohrnberger left his insurance information with the driver and a lump of cash before heading to practice.
Ohrnberger spoke to Belichick’s assistant and waited in the offensive linemen’s meeting room until the full team meeting ended.
Offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia was the first person Ohrnberger saw. According to Ohrnberger, Scarnecchia said his stunts may be accepted somewhere else but to be on time from now on.
Ohrnberger did not specify when the incident occurred. In 2009, Ohrnberger was drafted by the Patriots during the fourth round of the NFL draft. He played three seasons with the team but was put on injury reserve in 2011. In 2012, Ohrnberger was cut from the Patriots roster.
