Nebraska football great claims he’s ‘tolerated, not appreciated’ by Husker program

One of the best wide receivers to ever play the game for the Nebraska football program is not happy with how the Huskers treat him and former teammates. Though he wasn’t clear on who the culprit was.

For whatever reason, there is an interesting pattern forming around the Nebraska football program the last few weeks. More than a few former Huskers have come out and put the school on blast for how they treat former players.

Last week, it was Kieron Williams, who comes from the Mike Riley era of Nebraska football. He posted on social media that he felt the environment around the program was “too corporate.”

This week, it was Irving Fryar, who appeared on 93.7 The Ticket and talked about how he felt in returning to Lincoln for the first time in 20 years. During that appeararance, he made it clear he wasn’t happy with the way things were handled.

“For guys like myself … who have played at a university and given to that university, and sacrificed for that university, and even suffered consequences of that later on in our lives. Sometimes concussions, or injuries, things like that, and then you come back sometimes and you just feel like you’re just being … you feel like you’re being tolerated and not appreciated.”

Nebraska football great puts Huskers on blast

Fryar went on to say that the way that people in the program have treated him annoyed him so much that he’s refused to make appearances he was scheduled to make.

He added that he feels as though the only reasons the Nebraska football program is asking him to be certain places or make certain appearances is because they are just tolerating him.

Once again, the real issue with comments like Irving Fryar’s and Kieron Williams is that they aren’t being specific about who is giving off that vibe. It’s hard to know if Matt Rhule, who is preparing for Michigan this week, has been somewhat standoffish. Or whether it’s Trev Alberts and his team. Or neither.

Certainly, it’s never good when you have one of the best former Nebraska football players of any era coming to town and feeling unappreciated. However, there is almost certainly another side to this story.

Was Fryar looking for payment for these appearances? Was he expecting to have game preparations put on hold while he was escorted around the complex? Or was he hoping that people in the university would be more warm and happy to see him?

Without knowing just how and why he felt unappreciated and why Kieron Williams felt it was a corporate atmosphere, it’s hard to know what needs to change.

One thing is for sure, Irving Fryar should be appreciated as a former Nebraska football player. In a run first offense with the Huskers, he caught 67 passes for 1,196 yards and 8 touchdowns. from 1980 to 1983. He then became the first-ever (and only) Husker receiver to be taken number one overall in the NFL Draft.