Boobie Gibson, Scoring Points
October 9, 2008Arizona Fall League: At Least We’re Hitting…
October 10, 2008It’s a copycat league out there, folks. Waiting For Next Year compares the Cleveland Browns to Sarah Palin, and wouldn’t you know – Brady Quinn and Joe Thomas head out to Strongsville to support the McCain/Palin ticket. Their teammate, Willie McGinest, was out with LeBron James at a rally for Barack Obama and Senator Joe Biden.
As seen here not more than a few days ago, politics can be a touchy subject for many of folk; even when it does involve sports. And for this reason, Browns head coach Romeo Crennel has seen enough. Though aware that his players were going to be attending the various rallies, Crennel went on record with his thoughts.
”My main concern is that they don’t get on the soap box here in the locker room and get it going back and forth about a particular candidate against another particular candidate,” Crennel said. ”That’s why the ballot is a secret ballot when you go vote. I told them, ‘Your politics is your politics, but don’t let it interfere with this team, with your preparation for the next opponent.’ ” […]
”I just know politics. If you are stating your case for this guy, the other guy is stating his case for that guy, then there is room for potential confrontation,” he said. ”I let the team know whatever their feelings are about their politics, they have a right to them, but the team is first. So they have to prioritize.”
While I agree that these players have quite a following in Cleveland, and their respective voice means something to a lot of people, I cannot help but to agree with Crennel on this one. Regardless of partisan support, the team comes first. You have a team that has vastly underperformed to this point and has a very big game ahead of them. When your team was in the playoff hunt not more than a year ago, and is now struggling to reach .500, any time that can be put to improving one’s play should be used for just that.
The “confrontation” issue makes me wonder a bit, however. There were rumors a few weeks back stating that there were some disagreements between teammates that may or may not have lead to fisticuffs. There wree grumblings that some players were pointing fingers, and you can sense some of the frustration that is out on the field so who knows how much carries back to the locker room. Perhaps Crennel simply doesn’t want to add any fuel to the fire?
The article mentions that the political views stretch beyond just the three players that were in the media yesterday. Offensive lineman Hank Fraley and defensive lineman Shaun Smith were also quoted in the piece, but both said that their teammates choices to go support their respective candidates did not bother them. Honestly, it isn’t every day that one is invited to be with a presidential candidate; that part, I get. However, as this team continues to underachieve, I’m fully on board with doing what needs to be done to improve one’s self, the team, and this 2008 season of Browns football.
Crennel wants Browns to block political distractions [Ohio.com]
19 Comments
Of course he doesn’t say anything when Old Man Willie showed up to stump for Obama
I’m pretty sure he was speaking to the entire team. Not just BQ and Joe Thomas.
I have my own political beliefs, and I will keep those to myself.
But what I really want to know is: DID BRADY THROW SUBWAY SUBS TO PEOPLE IN THE CROWD???
I guess this gives Crennel the excuse he needs not to play Brady Quinn yet again… It is funny to hear the “prepare” comment with Quinn included. Quinn’s preparation for public appearances is obviously much more important than game prep as long as Crennel is coaching.
for once, i think romeo is in the right here
i really wish athletes, and really, every famous person would keep their political views to themselves.
i know, first amendment, blah blah blah, i just don’t care what brady quinn or big billy mcginest thinks about the election.
i don’t mind the route lebron took, because although he kind of made it clear who he was voting for without actually saying who he was voting for, he was more out to urge people to register and vote. that i have no problem with.
You mean you don’t care what Ashton Kutcher has to say about politics? 🙂
kellen just rushed to the hospital for undisclosed illness…per espn
Great now i have to get rid of my son’s Thomas Jersey…
As a celebrity– be it pro athlete, movie star, hotel heiress–you can get the attention of a huge number of people, and therefore can influence many. Given that power, if you have a chance to make an impact on something like who runs the country, that’s bigger than a game or a movie or some magazine covers. I love sports, but some things are more important–like finding someone who can make sure I can still AFFORD to go watch sports! It is incredibly unfair to expect someone in the public spotlight to have to just “shut up and play/act/be famous for nothing”. They have influence most of us will never have, and they have every right to use it, and I find it admirable. And, at the end of the day, if you find it harder to root for them, see their movies, or laugh at their latest night-vision sex tape, then that’s your own problem. I for one could care less who the players on my team/actors in the movie I pay to see/”victim of TMZ” support in this election: I just want them to do their job on the field/on the screen/in the tabloids. “It might cause a rift among teammates?” Well welcome to the real world. We all have to work with people we may not get along with, but we do it because it’s our job. Sports are no different, even if they’d like to be.
B-Bo:
Romeo’s main point is: “”My main concern is that they don’t get on the soap box here in the locker room and get it going back and forth about a particular candidate against another particular candidate,” Crennel said.”
That’s the issue. They can still go to rally and stump or whatever, but once they step into their football shoes, football is all that matters.
How can a professional athelete vote Democrat anyway? I thought there was a salary cap for the Lefties.
Well I’m not crazy about the idea that grown men should be discouraged from discussing politics: things might be better with the world if they did. If these “professionals” can’t have intelligent discussions then agree to disagree and “step into their football shoes” and do their job, then I’d question how much a person would want them on a team in the first place.
On an unrelated and, for me, a more bothersome note:
http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/10/10/at-least-the-browns-can-still-talk-a-good-game/#comments
Corey Williams: care to zip it, please?
I think that B-bo and Crennel are saying the same thing. Support your candidate, thats fine and its your choice. Just dont bring it in the locker and argue it. A guest speaker on ESPN was talking about how sometimes he and other players would get in heated debates. Players like Fred Taylor and Reggie Williams would come into the locker room ready to argue thier point.
@ Kidd – Pro athletes can afford the tax hikes. Whats the big deal when you lose .5 mill in taxes when you make 5 or more?
Yep, sports is definitely way, way more important than the direction the country is going. Stop messing around with inconsequential stuff like “who’s going to run the country for the next four years”; we’re trying to win a football game here!
I think if the team were 3-1, as opposed to 1-3, Romeo wouldn’t have felt the need to say anything at all.
romeo is doing what any “boss” would do…he is telling them that this is not an appropriate conversation at the work place…he has the right to tell his “employees” to not discuss anything that he feels may be offensive, a distraction, or anything else they feel it may be. are they grown men, abslolutely, but they are also expected to abide by the rules that their employer gives. think about ur workplace..isn’t there some conversations that ur employer deems inappropriate? i’m sure there is..
do i agree? prolly not. but the bottom line is, it is what it is, live with it…
If only Romey Smalls were this vocal on the field!
Sambo – taxes are a lot more than 10% of salary for everyone, let alone athletes. Even with good accountants you will get taxed more than $500k if you make $5 million a year.
Proof of this –
Travis Henry couldn’t support his family without a raise. It had to be the taxes that were killing his wallet, not the nine kids.
What is the big deal if you get taxed five mil if you have another five mil? Um, that would be a big deal to me. Why does everyone think rich people just have to pay more taxes just because they are rich? This isn’t Robin Hood. Not all rich people cheated someone, or stole something, or are pieces of crap. If the government learned how to control itself and its spending, no one woulld need to spend huge amounts in taxes. That is the main problem.
I get what Crennel is saying here, but I also thing people can talk politics and disagree and still get along. I work with a lot of Democrats and a few Republicans, and as an Independent, I can talk and disagree with them on some points while on others we agree. But we can be adults about and not let it affect work.