Tennessee Titans offensive tackle JC Latham spoke on Wednesday, Oct. 21, for the first time since his former teammate, Jordan Elliott, was released from the team after attempting to confront him with a gun after a heated practice dispute.
Latham referred to the incident as "an unfortunate situation" while declining to provide many additional details about what happened.
"I mean, just heat of the moment, (expletive) happens," Latham told reporters. "So, there ain't really too much to say about it."
The practice altercation between Elliott and Latham occurred on Thursday, Oct. 15, according to Aaron Wilson of KRPC Houston and Austin Stanley and Easton Freeze of AtoZSports.com.
Wilson reported that Elliott was told to leave the field after getting into it with Latham in practice. The defensive tackle reportedly removed his pads on the sideline, "stormed out" of the Titans' locker room and went to the players' parking lot to retrieve a gun from his car before Titans defensive tackle John Franklin-Myers stepped in to de-escalate the situation.
No one filed a report to the Metro Nashville Police Department, according to The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Titans coach Robert Saleh corroborated reports about what happened while also vouching for Elliott and expressing concerns about his mental health.
Latham acknowledged he was unaware of exactly what was happening while the situation unfolded, as he remained on the practice field after Elliott exited. The 23-year-old tackle expressed his appreciation for Franklin-Myers' intervention while also saying he would reach out to Elliott if granted the opportunity.
"It ain’t never been no bad blood between us two," Latham said about his relationship with Elliott. "We were here over the summer getting treatment before that. We hung out whenever we were in the same city together. We actually never had an argument leading up to it."
"I do think mental health is important," Latham added. "That’s just one of those situations where you pray for a guy like that, and if you can, reach out for him. Hope for the best for him. But it’s no bad blood. It's nothing personal on my end."
USA TODAY Sports' Jack McKessy also contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Titans' JC Latham addresses Jordan Elliott gun incident: 'No bad blood'
