Larry Fitzgerald Sr. recently found himself at the center of controversy after leaking the health diagnosis of Hall of Famer turned ESPN NFL analyst Randy Moss. And for the first time since doing so, Fitzgerald Sr. has discussed his claim. But he didn’t exactly appear to be all that remorseful about what he had done.
Fitzgerald Sr., who is a long-time reporter, columnist, and radio host on top of being the father of legendary NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr., leaked in a post on X that Moss is battling liver cancer, which he learned at a recent National Football Foundation Hall of Fame ceremony where both Fitzgerald Jr. and Moss were inductees.
“66th NFF Hall of Fame Ceremony here in Las Vegas just heard that Vikings HOF Randy Moss has liver cancer,” wrote Fitzgerald Sr. “Let’s show the power of prayer and pull Moss through this. I love you, Randy.”
This led to significant pushback from both fans on social media and the Moss family, who felt as if Fitzgerald had no right to leak his diagnosis without permission from Moss or his immediate family. As a result, Fitzgerald Sr. has since deleted the post.
Thaddeus Moss, the son of Randy Moss, took to social media shortly after Fitzgerald Sr. made the post, blasting him for the “disgusting” post which he believes was largely made for engagement.
Even Larry Fitzgerald Jr. detailed how he believed that his dad was in the wrong in this situation, telling him that it is “best to respect the privacy” of Randy Moss until he is ready to speak more on the matter.
“Dad, I think it’s best to respect his privacy on this,” wrote Fitzgerald Jr. in a response which is also now deleted. “If he feels ready to share more on his health, he will. In the meantime, let’s focus on sending him positive energy, prayers, and support rather than speculating.”
When asked about the leak by Daily Mail, Fitzgerald Sr. chose to not offer a comment outside of sharing his support for Moss.
“I have no comment other than I know Randy, love Randy and I’m praying for Randy,” said Fitzgerald Sr. in a statement to Daily Mail.
It certainly seems as if most believe that Fitzgerald Sr. overstepped by airing the news. Especially considering Moss wasn’t willing to go into detail about his health when he initially updated fans that he was going through something on Sunday NFL Countdown earlier this month. But clearly, Fitzgerald Sr. doesn’t seem to see things that way.
On Friday, fans learned the truth from Moss himself, offering an update on his health on Instagram Live and confirming that cancer was found in his bile duct, which affected the function of his liver.
“You know I have told y’all over the past couple of weeks that I was battling something internally. Your boy is a cancer survivor. Been in the hospital for six days. Just got out today, thank god. What happened was I went through a procedure. I did have cancer, they found it in the bile duct right between the pancreas and the liver. The doctors went in and I had a six-hour surgery.”
Moss didn’t go much further into detail. But he did say that he will continue to receive radiation treatment and that he plans to return to ESPN “soon”.
While Moss didn’t directly mention Fitzgerald Sr. and his leak. But he did subtly address “people trying to be doctors”, which could certainly be a shot at him.
“There was a few people out here trying to be doctors. For those clowns, I won’t acknowledge,” said Moss.
He also mentioned publicly to his son that he was supposed to “bite somebody’s head off” when they brought up family members, which again is likely a reference to Fitzgerald Sr.
Luckily, Moss appears to be in good spirits about things. But it is quite clear that he didn’t appreciate his information being leaked publically by Fitzgerald Sr. and others.
