Johnny Unitas’ son and grandson rip selection of Joe Flacco to portray the legendary QB
On Saturday, news surfaced that Joe Flacco was tabbed to portray the legendary Johnny Unitas on the football field in an upcoming movie about the quarterback’s life.
This news comes on the back of Flacco earning Super Bowl MVP honors and subsequently being awarded with the richest contract in NFL history (six years, $120.6 million).
Simply put, it’s good to be Joe Flacco right now.
Two men, however, have a difference of opinion on Baltimore’s star signal caller. J.C. Unitas, Johnny’s grandson, called the selection of Flacco to portray his grandfather an “embarrassing choice,” per his Facebook page, and he also went on to compare Flacco to Trent Dilfer.
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“If you want a real movie, hire a real actor,” wrote J.C. Unitas on Facebook. ”My grandfather and his legacy deserves only the best, and this is not it. Has Baltimore forgotten that Trent Dilfer also won a Super Bowl while playing for Baltimore?”
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J.C.’s father, John Unitas Jr., is also upset with the selection of Flacco, and the whole movie in the first place.
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“If you want a quarterback, go with Peyton Manning,” John said. “My father was just like that. This is a joke.”
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According to the ClarionLedger.com, a deeper issue with the movie stems from John Unitas Jr.’s and his brother Joe’s relationship.
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“It is awful. The guy’s a turd,” John Jr. said of Joe. “He never talked to me. He never talked to any of the first five children. He’s a guy that’s just making money off of my father.”
“They’re trying to do anything on the coattails of my father’s name,” John said. “It’s like prostituting yourself. My father would have nothing to do with it. It makes me angry, but there’s nothing I can do about it until they slip up. If they start selling some things with Johnny Unitas on it, then I have legal recourse.”
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J.C. added the following on the matter of making money off of his grandfather:
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“It disgusts me that one of the sons of my grandfather would put his hands out and ask for donations to make a movie based off of a book that was mostly built off of non-factual events in my grandfather’s life. Moreover, a movie of my grandfather conceptualized by a son who never saw my grandfather play a down of football.”
“The Unitas family is a family that never asked for handouts, although it appears there is a hand out, shaking a proverbial soup can for money to fund a movie.”
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The movie is titled “Unitas We Stand,” but from the sounds of it, the film is just about the only thing America will be treated to if John Jr. has any say in it.