Let’s get the obvious out of the way.
Bill Belichick is smarter than me when it comes to making football decisions. He’s smarter than every sportswriter, commentator, talk show host, former jock, radio rant-master, Internet sports hack and media peon spouting anything about football.
He’s smarter than you, the casual or deep fantasy football, stat-memorizing fan.
And he’s a damn sight smarter than just about everyone in the NFL.
While being mostly indisputable thanks to a history of proven wise ways, this does not mean he is infallible and immune from questions also based on history.
Albert Haynesworth? Really?
Albert Haynesworth has done nothing to earn an opportunity to win and be respected. Certainly not to play for a franchise as classy as the New England Patriots.
Belichick has made so many of the right moves, it’s easy to point only to the “Spygate” scandal as the reason his teams win. Get beat up enough times by one guy and one team you’re bound to seek out whatever excuse you can, other than he simply is a better coach and has better players.
This is a franchise with enough talented players and intelligent coaches that they don’t have to rely on the contribution of a questionable individual, who might bring with him the possibility of utilizing exceptional talents to perform extraordinary feats, but has proven to be little more than a professional violent malcontent that could besmirch a proud franchise and their fans.
Enough already with this politically correct “disruptive influence” tag. Call it like it is. Haynesworth has proven time and again he does not respect being a member of a team. He does not respect that hard work and sacrifice of those who wear the same colors. He does not respect opponents and would rather brutalize them outside the rules of the game to make his violent point. He does not respect coaches and their decisions. And in the end, this means he does not respect and has complete disdain for you, the person holding that ticket.
Honestly, this is the kind of person I wouldn’t want scrubbing toilets in an outhouse, much less a locker room.
Haynesworth knows that because of the physical gifts bestowed upon him, someone will always give him an opportunity so long as he doesn’t do something incredibly stupid.
Like breaking the law. Though allegedly, he’s crossed that line as well.
Haynesworth, reportedly at a Washington hotel bar, stuck a credit card down the front of a server’s dress and then fondled the woman’s breast. His excuse was that the waitress was lying, only wanting to nail down some free money because she, an African-American, was upset he has a white girlfriend. His attorney, as a matter of course, called the indictment “disappointing and regrettable”, and noted his confidence that Haynesworth would be completely exonerated. However, let’s out this into some perspective.
Haynesworth was charged in a road rage incident earlier this year in Virginia. While the case was dismissed, this was only after he and his attorney reached a settlement with the person involved. This is not innocence. This is either guilt, or just having enough money to make a nuisance leech go away. Either way it shows a decided lack of good judgment, common sense, and respect. Not just for the individuals on the other side of his antics, but for the team and sport that pays him so handsomely and thus allows him the power to egregiously err and be so easily forgiven.
And then there’s the line of uncontrolled anger and sadism. The manner in which during a 2006 game against the Dallas Cowboys, Haynesworth purposely and with some amount of seeming mindless glee, pounded Andre Gurode’s head into the Nashville turf. With his foot. Thirty stitches worth of violence that drew a five-game suspension. And should have been the landmark moment when a player was arrested during a sporting event for what amounted to wantonly dishing out potentially lethal blows.
Belichick has taken a flyer on head cases before, and to his credit, they both paid off without much trouble.
Corey Dillon created a furor when after six seasons in Cincinnati when he said the Bengals would “never win with the Brown family in Cincinnati”. Turns out Dillon was dead-on during his tenure. From 1997 to 2003, the “Bungles” had not one winning campaign, managing only one break even season. After being freed from his Queen City confinement, Dillon was key to the Patriots winning the 2004 Super Bowl before Father Time got involved.
Randy Moss was a bigger roll of the dice. Another gifted player who knew the game was about him first and everyone else in his wake. Proof positive when he walked off the field before the end of a game the Vikings lost. Granted, there were two seconds left on the clock, but being on a team means you stick your cleats in the turf and stay for every second. The next year he pulled down his pants and mooned Packers’ fans after scoring a touchdown. He’s been busted more than once by teammates and coaches alike about playing half-speed or less when he felt like it. Admitted and proud he smoked marijuana during his career, a violation of NFL rules. Allegations of dating violence in a case never prosecuted and later dropped. Finally, whining that he wasn’t getting the ball enough and the Patriots sent him packing.
Belichick again was proven to be the football equivalent of Sigmund Freud. He placated Moss long enough to use him for what he needed at the time. Moss was instrumental in the 2007 16-0 regular season and had a very minor role in their Super Bowl game against the NY Giants. Without him, it’s fair to say the Pats would not have rolled into the postseason.
The actions of both players are petty and milquetoast compared to Haynesworth, who remains a very different cautionary tale. There is nothing positive to take from his previous career save for stats. I can already hear the howls of Pats fans and other experts about how that’s what is really important. What a player does on the field.
True, but only to a point. Fans should still have pride in what their team does and how they are represented. Players don’t mind when one of their locker room mates has an attitude, shots his mouth off, or even breaks the occasional minor law. So long as it doesn’t affect chances of winning games and a title. As long as the one wearing their colors understands it’s about playing a role in a machine. When that part gets all the care available and still shows a marked penchant for breaking down when counted on, the possibility exists the entire machine grinds to a halt. And leaves a permanent stain on the machine itself.
The New England Patriots don’t need him. The classy Patriots fans don’t deserve him. Opportunity should be earned and not merely handed out to those with certain talents.
Albert Haynesworth is a defective part, one that should be tossed into the garbage heap of sports and society. He is not worth saving, and certainly not worth dishing out one single dime to finish his course of violent, selfish and well publicized brutal behavior.
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