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Timmy Jernigan isn't changing his number 99 after Warren Sapp rebuke

St Louis Rams v Baltimore Ravens Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Update: The Tampa Bay Times reports that Timmy Jernigan actually meant that he'd be sticking with 99, not his old number. Ambiguous quotes for the win. Guess Sapp loses after all. The story's been updated to reflect this fact.

Warren Sapp does not like it when you pay tribute to him without talking to him, or referencing all the greats that are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with him.

That's basically the core of what happened the last couple of weeks, after Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan announced he was changing his number to 99 in tribute to Sapp. The Hall of Famer didn't take kindly to that, first publicly asking the Ravens how he could stop that move, and later explaining that he was angry because Jernigan never contacted him after the draft, despite promising to do so. Whether those reasons are justified or petty, is an exercise I'll leave to the reader.

Sapp didn't get what he wanted, though: Jernigan now says he'll be the bigger person, by still changing his number to 99.

"I'm going to be the bigger person," Jernigan said, according to ESPN. "He says what he wants to. He can feel what he wants to. At the end of the day, it's all good. All I'm worried about is winning football games here in Baltimore."