Eagles CB Darius Slay ‘do not want to’ play against Green Bay Packers in first ever NFL game in Brazil

Eagles CB Darius Slay voices safety concerns over crime rates near the Green Bay Packers game location.

Eagles CB Darius Slay ‘do not want to’ play against Green Bay Packers in first ever NFL game in Brazil

Eagles Darius Slay doesn't want to play in Brazil (Image via NFL.com)

Darius Slay is the latest football player to question the NFL’s decision to host a regular-season game in Brazil. The Philadelphia Eagles cornerback’s biggest concern is player safety.

In March, the NFL declared that Corinthians Stadium, just outside of Sao Paulo, Brazil, would host its first-ever NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles. The initial excitement quickly turned into concern about the players’ safety after the Packers running back Josh Jacobs revealed hearing about crime rates around the stadium neighborhood.

YouTube video

Eagles Darius Slay shares the same concern, and during a recent interview, he questioned the NFL’s decision to play football in such a location.

FS Video
Week 1, I can’t wait. But man, I do not wanna go to Brazil... They already told us not to leave the hotel. They told us we can’t do too much because the crime rate is crazy. I’m like ‘NFL, why would you wanna send us somewhere with a crime rate this high?’.
Darius Slay said via Big Play Slay
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Darius Slay advised his family to stay away from Brazil

Families often take time out to watch their favorite player in the stadium. However, Slay doesn’t want that; in fact, he wants them to avoid traveling to South America.

I told my family do not come down there.
Darius Slay said
Eagles CB Darius Slay 'do not want to' play against Green Bay Packers in first ever NFL game in Brazil
Darius Slay (Image via NFL.com)

The 33-year-old’s concern is shared by a lot of players in both Eagles and Packers locker rooms. Regardless, they have to make their way to Brazil for the game. Brazilian football fans even created a mural for the special occasion.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni revealed they are ready for the game and the 6-hour-long flight from the USA to Sao Paulo.

We've already talked about our plan of what the flight’s going to look like, and what the postflight's going to look like with IVs and things like that because a flight like that can dehydrate you. But that’s our job ... Now control what you can control− fluids getting in your body, the IVs, the stretching. All the things that we're going to do to make sure we're ready to go physically for this game.
Nick Sirianni said (H/T: Delaware Online)

Slay will be on the flight, including quarterback Jalen Hurts and offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, for whom the long travel time is a cakewalk compared to what he is used to.

This is a short flight (comparatively). I’m going to download a lot of movies, bring a deck of cards, and you gotta be chatty.
Jordan Mailata said

The offensive tackle is from Australia, which takes almost 12 hours on a plane from the US. It’s shaping up to be quite the game.

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