The polite discussion on the I Am Athlete podcast turned heated after former NFL stars Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson and Brandon Marshall got into an intense exchange. As they were speaking about their professional careers, the topic of overall wellness and preparedness for the field came up and Marshall mentioned to Johnson that his love for fast food may have hindered his play.
"You keep talkin' 'bout McDonald's and all that, but I truly believe sleep [and] nutrition is the biggest x-factors," said Marshall. Johnson disagreed. Marshall added, "Bro, you could have played 20 years! You played 11, 12 years." Johnson retorted, "I f*cked up, period. I wouldn't have played." Then Marshall criticized Johnson's numbers in his last season with Cincinnati but Ochocinco was adamant that his "numbers were great."
The two men increasingly yelled at each other—with Johnson even calling his friend an "idiot"—as Ochocinco stated that his last season with Cincinnati wasn't a stellar performance because of the "opportunities" he was given. "That's the way it works, they work you out the system," said Johnson. He argued that because he "f*cked up," he was being phased out of his team into retirement. Marshall seemed to contest that this wasn't necessarily the case, causing Johnson to grow increasingly agitated.
Marshall continued to argue that had Ochocinco made better lifestyle choices, he would have retained longevity in his career, while Johnson was steadfast that his troublesome personal life is what caused his career to flounder. They ended their argument with a laugh, so check out the full episode below or catch their back-and-forth near the end of the video.