A recent Shawne Merriman interview with ESPN ended early. Much like his playing career.
But unlike his playing career, Merriman was able to walk out in the middle of the interview.
Deadspin.com reported that the former San Diego Chargers star linebacker made an appearance on the talk show, "Highly Questionable," on ESPN2 with co-hosts Bomani Jones and Dan Le Batard. Merriman was to discuss the 11th Annual Lights On Foundation Coat Drive, a charity Merriman started to combat homelessness.
Jones and Le Batard were getting into some personal details of Merriman's past, according to Deadspin. They asked about his playing career, about his performance-enhancing drugs use that led to a suspension from the San Diego Chargers in 2006 and his stormy relationship with reality television star Tila Tequila.
The portion caught on video included questions about Merriman's home catching fire when he was a boy, how he reacted and how it felt to be homeless and it a shelter.
"We were in there quite a bit," Merriman said before shocking his interviewers by saying, "All right, thanks, guys, I appreciate it, all right," taking out his earpiece and walking out of camera view and ending the interview.
Both Jones and Le Batard look stunned at Merriman's exit, which apparently was not by accident.
After the episode, Merriman took to his Twitter account to write, "Mr Walk off #LightsOut".
Then again, Merriman's entire career was enigmatic. A first-round pick of the San Diego Chargers in 2005, he held out until August his rookie year, but ended winning AP rookie of the year.
Merriman's 2006 season was reduced four games because of a violation of the NFL's steroid policy. He still led the league with 17 sacks in just 12 games and was a first-team All-NFL selection.
He had 12.5 sacks in 2007, which was considered a down year for him because he played all 16 games.
In 2008, his injury problems first arose. He had to have reconstructive knee surgery, which cost him the entire season. He played 14 games in 2009 but just eight over his next two years. After playing 10 games with the Buffalo Bills in 2012, Merriman retired in 2013.
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