In the morning, Devlin said DiSandro told him coach Andy Reid wanted the jersey removed. Boyko later said Reid, in fact, had not noticed the jersey, that DiSandro was invoking Reid's general feelings, and not acting on a specific request.
Boyko said the Eagles don't have a hard-and-fast policy on such things, but that credentialed guests, as opposed to people who just come and sit in the stands, are supposed to be screened at their entry onto the field at Lehigh, and that the wearing of other teams' jerseys is discouraged.
Devlin was on the sideline on a guest pass, provided by friend Frank Deutchki, of Schwenksville, who accompanied him. Devlin said he was surprised by the whole scene, but emphasized there were no hard feelngs.
"I wasn't trying to make a statement, I was just trying to get a reaction out of the fans," said Devlin, who said he understood the organization's "business decision" to part with McNabb in April, and likes what he has seen from Kolb.
Devlin, who said he bought the jersey about a month ago, said he wore it to the Phils-Mets game Sunday, drawing scattered notices of disapproval from other fans. He said he wasn't expecting to draw reaction from the Eagles.
"If you're [running] training camp, something like that, you're probably focused on other things - I'd probably be worried about these guys [pointing toward the players] than all of these guys [the fans and media]," he said.
It was Devlin's first visit to training camp. He said if he'd known it would be a problem, he would have bought and worn a Stewart Bradley jersey.
After the forced removal, Deutchki carried the jersey in a plastic bag, with Devlin wearing a red T-shirt.
Fans here and there have worn Eagles McNabb jerseys at this camp without incident.
