Broncos’ Marshall miffed again

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Brandon Marshall has one more reason to be miffed at the Denver Broncos.

Marshall, who is unhappy with his contract and wants either a raise or a trade, is annoyed with the way the team handled his acquittal on misdemeanor battery charges last week, a person close to him told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Marshall learned upon rejoining the team that a member of the Broncos’ public relations staff told his teammates after their preseason opener at San Francisco on Friday night that they shouldn’t gloat over his acquittal hours earlier in an Atlanta courtroom.

The Denver Post, quoting a person it didn’t identify, reported that players were told not to say they were happy for Marshall but instead to say it was good for the organization that the issue was behind them.

Marshall was told the staffer was acting on his own but figured the directive came from someone higher up in the organization, so he met with Broncos chief operating officer Joe Ellis, who apologized to him Monday, the person familiar with the matter told the AP.

Broncos spokesman Jim Saccomano said the issue was handled internally and the team would have no comment.