What Ever Happened to the NFL Heroes?
What happened to all the good guys? I remember a time when football players were gentlemen on and off the field. When the worst thing a player did was to use drugs and even those incidences were few and far between. What happened to football greats like Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, “Mean” Joe Green, Reggie White, Dick Butkus, Walter Payton, Lawrence Taylor, Franco Harris, Larry Csonka, Len Dawson, Jim Brown, Mike Singletary, and Howie Long. What happened to players who were role models on as well as off the field? Now it seems like coaches draft the largest players and the players with the worst attitudes. While there are still great football players in the NFL and whose behavior is a reflection of times gone by, there are still a great many like Albert Haynesworth. He is the perfect example of the large player with attitudes being drafted by today’s coaches.
The 6-foot-6, 320-pound Haynesworth stomped on Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode’s head Sunday, knocking off his helmet, then kicked and stomped his face. Gurode needed 30 stitches to repair the cuts left by the tackle’s cleats, and plans to talk with his family about whether or not to press charges, his agent told Nashville police Monday.
The league suspended Haynesworth for five games — more than twice the length of the previous longest suspension — for flagrant unnecessary roughness. He won’t be paid while he serves the suspension, effective immediately, which will cost him approximately $190,000.
Its not like this player was a great guy until he came into the League. Haynesworth has a history of bad behavior going back at least as far as his playing days at Tennessee. Most of those problems were limited to practice and therefore did not catch the attention of the public. The NFL’s newest bad boy has also been accused of road rage before charges were dropped. He has also been accused of kicking teammates. NFL scouts apparently knew of Haynesworth’s problems in college since he was not drafted until later in the first round.
After the game, Haynesworth was said to be remorseful and apologetic.
“What I did out there was disgusting,” Haynesworth said Sunday. “It doesn’t matter what the league does to me. The way I feel right now, you just can’t describe it.”
The apology is a matter of too little, too late.
While I blame football players for their own actions, some attention must be given to the coaches who draft players with known problems. To draft a player who appears to be out of control is courting danger. Then people like Tennessee Titan Coach Jeff Fisher pretends to be surprised when one of their prized players goes nuts. These players are drafted for their football skills, not their ability to socialize with others.
Makes me wonder if the coaches should not catch some of the blame for drafting these ticking time bombs.
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