“I would rather play with 10 guys then have 11 if one isn’t completely sold out to the team”……“I told him he would help us more by watching the game than playing the game”. Those, my friends, were the words that came out of what appeared to be a frustrated, but also perplexed, Mike Singletary’s mouth last Sunday after the Niners loss to Seattle. Of course, unless you live under a rock, you know whom he was speaking about – one Vernon Davis. After committing a senseless unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, VD was run off the field quicker than a 400-pounder to an all you can eat buffet. Frankly, it was something that I, Mike Martz or anyone else didn’t see coming and it says a lot about the new Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
Years ago, Mike Singletary was one of the fiercest linebackers to ever play the game. He’d set up in the middle of the Chicago Bears “Monsters of The Midway” defense, eyes bulging, hands shaking, teeth gnarled, just waiting to have a chance to pound someone….. anyone, who dared come in to the middle of his field. That field was his house and boy you were gonna know it if you were in his house; as a matter of fact, he may not let you leave with all your limbs attached. Mike was a guy who played hard every time the ball was snapped and from whistle to whistle in every game, every season during his career. I once heard Mark Schlereth, former Denver Bronco lineman and current NFL analyst on ESPN, say that the biggest compliment he ever heard from anybody was that “he played hard”. Mike did just that on both the practice and playing fields, saying on Sunday afternoon that he was “old school and I only know one way to play and that was hard”. According to many people, Mike was also a great teammate to everyone on any team in which he played for. I once read where “Sweetness” himself (Walter Payton) said that he thought Mike Singletary was perhaps “the best teammate and friend that he could have asked for” – this is high praise from someone as esteemed and revered in NFL history and lore as Walter Payton.
So, considering the man and not only his mentality about football, is it any surprise that he did what he did on Sunday afternoon? If it is to you, I would say that’s sad because clearly you’ve been conditioned to accept NFL players and their antics as whom and what they are. What I saw Sunday was a breath of fresh air! Finally, we saw a Head Coach in action who will not only hold himself, but also his team, accountable for their actions on and off the field. I’ve read reports everywhere from ESPN to Fox Sports to Joe Blow’s NFL blog talking about how disrespectful that was to Vernon Davis. But what about what Vernon Davis did? You hear former players talk all the time about respecting not only the game today, but those that came before you and how important it is to realize that it’s really a privilege to play in the NFL. What you don’t hear said or see in the actions of many Pros in the league today, is that they realize what they truly have. Sure, you can talk to the 5th string wide out, or a practice squad player, and a lot of times they realize that what they’re doing for a living makes yours and my jobs seem unbearable. However, a lot of the big timers don’t realize it.
Virtually every player on the field in the NFL today is a millionaire, if not close to being a billionaire. And, virtually every player on the field today has some young fan somewhere that looks up to and watches their every move. So, my question is this: Is it too much to ask for NFL players to play the game and conduct themselves off the field in the right manner? I don’t think so, and clearly neither does Mike Singletary. Now, Vernon Davis didn’t go ‘Romanowski’ and spit in someone’s face, and he didn’t go ‘Kyle Turley’ and almost rip a guys head off his shoulders trying to get his helmet off, but he did act in a way that was unprofessional and unacceptable. Sadly though, that’s just one incident of many, on a weekly basis that we can look at as evidence of a “spoiled” group of men playing a child’s game and making a LOT of money.
In general, NFL players are given anything they want….that’s right….GIVEN anything they want. Sure, they pay for their homes and cars and things like that. But, if you ever have the chance, ask Ladainian Tomlinson, Ray Lewis, Peyton Manning or anyone else how many times they actually pay for dinner when they go out. I bet the answer would simply blow your mind, because the truth is, they rarely pay for anything. They are comp’d for rooms and dinners in Vegas, and countless other cities and places for countless other items. We, as a society, have put these athletes on such a high pedestal, that they expect everyone to accommodate them and their every wish. So, maybe I’m a little biased, but I’m glad that someone finally slapped down a pro athlete and said basically that “you’re not that important and you’re certainly not irreplaceable so get over yourself”. I love it and I want to see more of it!
I can’t help but think of some of the greatest athletes that ever played the game – Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, John Elway, Joe Montana, Lynn Swann, Dick Butkus, Jerry Rice and countless others, and think of the way they played. You never ever saw Barry Sanders do some stupid dance in the back of the end zone after he scored. You never saw John Elway dance after he threw a one of his 400 plus TD’s or Rod Smith dance after being on the receiving end of that pass. You never saw Jerry Rice dance (aside from dancing with the stars) on a field of play when he caught a TD from Montana. You never saw Walter Payton sign a football or TV camera lens after his score either. The bottom line is here: those guys played with class, dignity and they did the right thing when they scored; they acted like they had been there before. I can’t stand watching the Baltimore Ravens and seeing Ray Lewis’ intro and him dance like a moron and then make a play (which is his job) and dance some more. The last time I checked Ray, this isn’t Solid Gold or the MTV Block Party – it’s football and it’s a game that deserves to be respected.
Imagine if you and I after we did our job everyday, we got up and danced around and spiked our notebook or computer mouse…strangely, I don’t think that would go over too well with your boss or mine. Can’t you see that? Let’s say his name is John, he’s a Customer Service Rep for some bank or something and he takes a call from Leslie. Well, Leslie is mad, she’s hollering and she’s irritated, but our boy John knows how to handle the situation. Well, 3 minutes later (it’s never that short so, we’ll say 15 minutes later) she’s content with everything and the call is over. Instead of collecting himself and moving to the next call, there goes John dress slacks and all, dancing around the office like Deion Sanders and he grabs his notebook and spikes it to the ground, fakes giving it CPR and walks away, leaving the book where it lies. Aside from being the stupidest thing I would have ever seen, it would be totally unacceptable.
So, why are athletes any different? All they’re doing is a job. And it’s a job that I might add they get paid a lot of money to do. So why can’t they be held to a higher standard? Why can’t Chad Johnson be expected not only by his coach, but the league to conduct himself in a way that’s not offensive to the other team or players? Why? Because no one holds them accountable…..that’s why. No one docks their pay for acting out. No one benches them for acting out. Proof? Kellen Winslow, the so called “soldier,” said some pretty disparaging things in the media last week about the Browns, so the Browns suspend him without pay; however, instead of actually enforcing that, they agreed to pay him, but he doesn’t play. Ironically, the same thing happened with Plaxico Burress.
Give me a break. I say it’s time for the NFL and the Coaches of the NFL to grow a set of onions and make these players accountable for what they’re doing. I like what Del Rio did with Steve Smith – that suspension had some bite to it. Unfortunately, aside from Tony Dungy, Jeff Fisher, The Hoody and Mike Singletary, no one else is really strong enough to do something like that in fear of losing their team. I know as a parent that I don’t want my son to think that it’s okay to conduct yourself like that on the playing field and I would hope that most of you reading would think the same thing.
So to you Mike Singletary, I give you a round of applause for being able to stick to your principles and doing it the right way. With some bite and with some authority, because it will work and the message of team will be relayed to those not understanding. Proof it will work will come from one Vernon Davis, because I would be willing to be that as long as he plays for Mike Singletary, or should I say as long as Mike Singletary lets Vernon Davis play for him, he’ll not do anything like that again. Nice work Mike!
