NEW YORK (AP) — Jeremy Shockey says he was not a whistle-blower in the Saints bounties case, and that Warren Sapp’s accusation he was has made it difficult for him to go back to New Orleans.

Appearing on Showtime’s “Inside The NFL,” Shockey says Wednesday about being “a snitch” that “I would never do anything like that.” He adds he spoke with Saints coach Sean Payton about it and Payton said, “Jeremy, just let it go.”

The former tight end says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “even came out and said I wasn’t the person who did it.”

Shockey says he confronted Sapp about the report the former defensive lineman made on NFL Network and Sapp replied he “wanted to stick by his source.”

Shockey added, “I don’t think his source was all that credible.”