Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Josh Huff was pulled over by police earlier this week and arrested for possession of a small quantity of marijuana and a handgun and ammunition. But until he spoke up about why he carries the firearm, it looked like his job was safe.
Huff was reportedly pulled over on the Walt Whitman Bridge, which connects Philadelphia to New Jersey, at around 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Authorities allege that Huff was in New Jersey at the time of his arrest for the small amount of marijuana and handgun. He was further charged with the possession of hollow point ammunition, which is illegal in New Jersey.
Despite the player’s arrest, it initially looked as though his position on the team was safe.
As reported by the Sports Xchange Tuesday:

Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson expects wide receiver Josh Huff to play Sunday despite his arrest on firearm and marijuana charges.
…
“Obviously disappointed,” Pederson told reporters Wednesday. “Not what you want to see on a player’s day off.”
Pederson said that “nothing changes right now” regarding Huff’s status for Sunday at the New York Giants.

But something changed—perhaps because of his pro 2^nd Amendment remarks to reporters who inquired about why he was carrying a gun.
I’m a professional athlete, what professional athlete doesn’t have a gun?” Huff asked Wednesday. “I have a wife and I have a son at home. My job is to protect them at all costs, and my job is to protect myself as well even though I know I have security here, but I have to protect myself as well.”
The player added: “I’m from Houston. You can’t trust a lot of people in Houston. There’s always somebody out to get you. You’ve got to protect yourself. Even when I’m back in Houston, I always have a gun on me, because there’s been several instances in Houston where I’ve lost a friend to gun violence, and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, so why would I let that happen to me?”
On Thursday Huff was fired.