Warren Sapp splits allegiance between Cowboys and Buccaneers

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp has declared himself conflicted about Week 15’s matchup between his old team and the Dallas Cowboys.

Warren Sapp won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and heralded an era of defensive domination for a perennially moribund franchise. But Sapp isn’t sure who he’ll be rooting for when his playoff-chasing old team meets childhood favorite the Dallas Cowboys on the road on Sunday Night Football.

Sapp declared his allegiance split by posting this image on his official Twitter account:

The 8-5 Bucs need the win for their bid to clinch the NFC South ahead of the Atlanta Falcons and reach the postseason. As for the Cowboys, homefield advantage remains firmly in their sights after 11 wins from 13 games.

Sapp dominated for nine seasons after being drafted in the first round by the Bucs in 1995. He set the table for a swarming defense as an overpowering 3-technique pass-rusher.

Sapp logged double-digit sacks in a season three times, but he didn’t win a Super Bowl until 2002. Yet despite his glory days in Tampa, Sapp has never hidden his admiration for the Cowboys.

In fact, he declared support for the team stemming from childhood during a 2011 interview with SportsDay.

Things have been rocky for the 43-year-old since his playing days came to an end, though. He was arrested back in Super Bowl week of 2015, but the charges of solicitation and assault were eventually dropped.

The incident cost Sapp his job as an analyst for NFL Network. Later that year, he was arrested again when he was accused of biting his girlfriend.

Next: 2016 NFC Playoff Picture: Week 15

Sapp put together a Hall-of-Fame worthy playing career, but those memories have been tarnished somewhat by events off the field.

Bucs fans who still adore him are unlikely to want to see their former defensive linchpin rooting for the Cowboys. Especially in a game with this much on the line.