Ex-RB Corey Dillon rips Bengals' ring of honor selection process - ESPN

CINCINNATI — Former Bengals running back Corey Dillon is flipping mad about the franchise's ring of honor selection process.

The Bengals' all-time leading rusher — who once famously said he'd «flip burgers» during a contract dispute with the club — took shots at how the team honors its former players. In an interview with The Athletic published Thursday, Dillon didn't hold back as he took umbrage with the process that features votes from season-ticket holders and suite holders. He said it was «garbage» and the selection should be done directly by the front office or a special committee.

«This ain't a popularity contest,» Dillon told the outlet. «This is football. You are going to put in somebody who is more popular than somebody who got stats?

»Bengals are smart. I give it to them. We will put it in the hands of the season-ticket holders, so they don't have to take that backlash over who the voters are picking. That's bulls---. The s--- should come straight from the team. Half these season-ticket holder people never seen half of us play."

Dillon, a second-round pick in the 1997 draft, played for the Bengals for seven seasons. During that span he made three Pro Bowls and rushed for at least 1,000 yards in all but his final season with the club, which was the franchise's first year under coach Marvin Lewis.

The team ended up trading the disgruntled Dillon to the New England Patriots for a second-round pick.

«I guess Cincinnati got exactly what they wanted,» he said in an ESPN report from 2004. «Corey Dillon got exactly what he wanted. I'm happy. It's a good deal all around, I think.»

The move also ended a rocky tenure in Cincinnati that included an arrest for domestic violence in 2000. News reports indicated that Dillon