The Big Lead

Chargers RB Melvin Gordon Doesn't Like LA, 'Loved' San Diego

By Ryan Phillips

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Melvin Gordon is a key piece of what the Los Angeles Chargers are trying to build in their new city. Their go-to running back broke 1,000 yards for the first time last season and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry this year. It would really suck for the franchise if its 25-year-old star ball-carrier said he didn’t like the city it moved to and missed the one it came from.

Oh boy.

In a profile from SI’s Robert Klemko released on Thursday, Gordon discussed his disdain for his new city and how he pined for San Diego:

"Father and son exchange game tickets and hugs, and Gordon is on the road to Carson. Soon enough, traffic slows to a crawl, and Gordon begins to calculate just how much of his game day he spends in his Range Rover. It’s a time for meditation, to get lost in the hip hop bellowing through the speakers—it’s not a time for brake lights. “I don’t really like this area too much, to be honest.”"

And then the coup de grâce that will surely have Dean Spanos and his sons throwing things:

"“I loved San Diego. It was my kind of energy, my kind of vibe. It was a perfect place for me. Everything was perfect.”"

Ouch.

Here’s the thing, this has not been a secret around San Diego. Tons of former players have told reporters off-the-record that they missed San Diego and didn’t want to move north. Reporter Annie Heilbrunn pointed that out today:

I mean the franchise’s best player, Philip Rivers, didn’t even move to LA with the team and instead chose to commute every day.

This isn’t even the first time Gordon has claimed he missed San Diego, it’s been a repeated theme from him since the move.

UPDATE: Gordon now claims he was referring to Orange County, not LA. That’s some pretty quick backtracking, but Gordon does have tremendous footspeed. Also, last week he liked the following tweet by former teammate Stevie Johnson:

But hey, maybe he really just has something against Costa Mesa. But Klemko and Gordon’s interview happened on game day, during a drive to the StubHub Center…which is in Carson…which is in LA County. Soooo….yeah.