Ex-NFL player responds to backlash after he admits to killing mountain lion

Former NFL star Derek Wolfe has hit back after being criticized for killing a mountain lion.

The 32-year-old was met with backlash after he shared a photo of himself proudly holding up the 200lb slain mountain lion, which he claimed had been wreaking havoc in the local area.

Wolfe, who used to play for the Denver Broncos, said he’d been asked to kill the animal after it killed two dogs and a mule deer.

On his Instagram post, Wolfe gave details about the hunt, writing: “Late Tuesday night I got a call from @huntnest to see if I wanted to stalk a giant Tom (male mountain lion) who has been wreaking havoc in a rural neighborhood.

“He had already killed two of her dogs and was living under her porch, nervous what he might do next. We found a fresh 4x4 mule deer he had just killed.

"We hiked straight up 2500ft and down the other side, then back up again, back down the other side and then back up again to 9600ft.

“Exhausted, dehydrated, cramping I drew back my @hoytbowhunting and sent an @sevrbroadheads through him. Then I had to crawl backwards down the mountain with him to get him to the truck I fell 10ft off a rock face on the way down lol. Any guess how big this thing was? [sic].”

But not everyone was in support of the hunt or Wolfe’s actions and he’s since received a flurry of complaints.

Speaking during an interview with Tucker Carlson on Monday (January 23), he said: "I can't believe that going on a legal hunt, doing something legal, by the book -- they've had 200 calls to Colorado Parks and Wildlife trying to turn me in like I did something wrong. [I] did nothing wrong. Everything's legal."

Talking about the hunt, he admitted: “I've been through some tough training camps but this but this beat me up bad. I'm all cut up.

“I was able to make a shot, a good ethical shot and harvested the cat and got him out of there and did everything by the book. This was completely legal.”

Wolfe also revealed that he has processed the meat and will eat it.

A spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife told TMZ that Wolfe’s actions were legal.