New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas caught more just a career and franchise high number of yards on Sunday — the dominant receiver connected on a call from Carmen at Cardholder Services.
Thomas, who caught 211 yards and a touchdown in the Saints’ 45-35 victory against the previously undefeated Los Angeles Rams, says his headline-grabbing celebration that included pulling a flip phone from under a goal post pad as an homage to Joe Horn was not what it looked like.
“I had just gotten into the end zone so the game was in hand, I was winding down and about to relax and then the phone rings,” said Thomas, who says he was completely caught off-guard.
“As weird as it was, I thought it’d be my family calling to congratulate me on a great game or maybe I had gotten a concussion that I didn’t remember.”
Instead, it was Carmen informing the millionaire he is now eligible for a much lower interest rate on his credit card, though the offer was about to expire.
Thomas said he had avoided Carmen’s calls lately but she has been persistent and finally reached him again by calling when he least expected it.
“I don’t care how tempting the offer is — it’s inappropriate and aggravating that she calls me while I’m at work.” Thomas vented. “She calls all the time. She used to call from different numbers, then she spoofed real numbers I knew and now, even when I don’t answer my phone, she just plants another ringing phone wherever I am. You can’t get away from her.”
Regardless, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he will likely fine the star receiver significantly to set an example but mainly because he hasn’t gotten to discipline a Saint in quite some time.
“We want players to express themselves and have fun out there when they score, it’s more fun for fans, but we don’t want players to have too much fun,” Goodell said in a released statement.
“We need to nip this in the bud and set an example. The Saints know how this goes.”