Michael Floyd embraced the Lombardi Trophy with a kiss caught on camera after New England rallied to win Super Bowl LI.
The former Cretin-Derham Hall star shared the special moment on social media and wrote "Talk about a 180. #believeinyourself."
Some fans responded by showing their displeasure for Floyd's "180" turnaround. Sunday on ESPN Radio's "Weekend Observations," he expressed his regret for the DUI arrest that ultimately led him to New England where he became a world champion.
"Random people just say the most crazy things, probably most of them were Arizona people," Floyd said. "They just think I'm not sorry for what I did, or I disrespected Arizona. All I can say is I made a mistake. I'm sorry for what I did. I'm moving forward. I think some people didn't want me to be successful. I think that's just life. I think there are a lot of people out there that don't want people to succeed. You just have to make the best of it. For me, I got on a team that loved me and I was actually successful."
The wide receiver was claimed by New England after Arizona released Floyd following the Dec. 12 DUI arrest in Scottsdale, Ariz. He played a minimal role during the team's final two regular-season games and postseason run, yet went from losing his job to Super Bowl champion in less than 60 days.
Floyd was a healthy inactive for the Patriots' 34-28 overtime victory against Atlanta, but still got the opportunity to celebrate with his new teammates.
"I made a dumb decision to drive," Floyd said. "I thought I was OK and I fell asleep and I think the whole world knows what happened after that. It's a dumb decision by an individual, you learn from it and move on."
Floyd was found asleep at the wheel of his car in an intersection around 3 a.m., just hours after the Cardinals returned from a loss at Miami. His blood was drawn reportedly more than an hour after his car was first spotted and tests revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.217. That is more than twice the legal limit in Arizona. If convicted of what is referred to as "super extreme DUI," Floyd could face a sentence of 45 days in jail, pay several fines and be required to install an ignition interlock device on his car.
