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Ben Baby, ESPN writer
CINCINNATI — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, in his first public comments since his home was broken into during Monday night’s game, spoke Wednesday about the degree to which he felt his privacy was violated.
Before taking questions during his regular midweek news conference, Burrow issued a statement addressing the robbery that occurred at his Cincinnati-area home while the Bengals were on the road to face the Dallas Cowboys.
“I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one, and there is already much more than I would like to share,” said Burrow, who hinted that he would not answer any specific questions. about the incident.
But in his limited comments on the situation, Burrow agreed that one of the most frustrating parts was the amount of information that is now part of public discourse.
According to an incident report obtained by ABC News, the break-in was initially reported by model Olivia Ponton, who contacted police after seeing a broken bedroom window upon arriving at Burrow’s home. A local television station also obtained aerial drone footage.
Burrow has gone to great lengths throughout his career to protect his privacy. But the Pro Bowl quarterback, who is among the richest and most popular players in the league, acknowledged that while he understands attention is part of the job, it doesn’t make things easier.
“We live a public life,” Burrow said. “One of my least favorite parts of this is the lack of privacy, and it’s been difficult for me to deal with my entire career.”
The robbery, which is being investigated as a felony, is one of many similar incidents involving high-profile athletes. In November, a source told ABC News that the NFL and other leagues were informed by the FBI about targeted thefts involving notable names such as Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Burrow declined to comment when asked how he felt about his safety going forward.
When the Bengals first drafted Burrow in 2020, that’s when he said he started separating his personal life from his professional life. Burrow acknowledged the theft has made that more challenging.
“It’s definitely been tough this week, but for the most part, I’m pretty good at it, considering during the season you don’t really have a personal life,” Burrow said. “It’s kind of like football. Obviously, things come up that you don’t expect, and when they come up, you try to do the best you can to handle them quickly and be able to get over them and focus on the ball.”
Although the Bengals (5-8) have a bleak playoff picture heading into Sunday’s road game against the Tennessee Titans (3-10), Burrow is in the midst of a career year. He currently leads the NFL in passing yards (3,706), passing touchdowns (33) and is second in total QBR (74.1), behind only Buffalo’s Josh Allen.
In addition to the robbery at home, Burrow is also dealing with a left knee injury he suffered in Monday’s 27-20 win in Dallas.
Cincinnati held a walk-through Wednesday night. Had it been a practice, the team estimated Burrow would have been a limited participant. But after the session ended, he said it wasn’t a major concern.
“He’s getting better,” Burrow said. “I’ll be ready to go.”
As for preparing to face the Titans and coach Brian Callahan, who was Burrow’s offensive coordinator the past five seasons, he said practicing on a short week is a bigger challenge as Cincinnati tries to finish the year with wins in the midst of a disappointing season.
“No victory is going to solve anything right now,” Burrow said. “There’s not one win that can affect a lot of different things right now. So we’re just focused on going out there and trying to play well, trying to find a win on Sunday and keep trying to get better.”
