I repeat, Albert Haynesworth is a douchebag. This clown signed a 7-year, $100 Million dollar deal with the Washington Redskins in 2009 and now, one and half seasons later, is suspended for the remaining games due to 'conduct detrimental to the team'. Basically, he was just a jerk to everyone and wanted to do things his way instead of being coached. There are all kind of excuses for Fat Albert, such as the 'Skins defensive scheme didn't work with Al's play style or Coach Shanahan's is too hard-nosed to listen, but what it all boils down to is this player's total lack of respect for football in general.
Let me make something clear to everyone. The fans pay the player's salaries. Yes, the actual check comes from the owners of the teams, but where does he get that money? Tickets, merchandise and sponsorships. Even the sponsorships are fan based, as it requires fans to pay attention to the sponsors and advertisements to make them pay off. The fans are the money source. Even investors of a franchise can be considered fans, giving support to a team they like. What all this means is that there is a certain level of respect and responsibility that the players (as well as all team staff) owe the fans.
You may now ask, well what does Al's conflict with the team have to do with owing the fans? Well, if you listen to any amount of sports talk radio or tv programming, you would have an idea. The happenings of the team are no longer held behind closed doors. The media is now an ever-present entity and every aspect of the team is covered. Conversely, the players are coaches are aware of the fans' opinions and attitudes. In all normal situations, this does not create a problem. If a team loses, there can be a quasi-discussion between all involved about what to improve upon. Same goes for a win, a discussion happens about what went right. However, when there are personal quabbles and non-game related issues, there creates this extra rift in the overall relationship and you can bet that the media will be covering it.
After all the continuous media coverage, we can understand if these personal spats happen now again over the course of the season, but they should be easily and quickly resolved. They should not last for 2 years. At this point, it becomes apparent that there is something else going on behind the scenes that is causing a problem. In this case, it is the horrible attitude of an overplayed player. Fat Albert would often give quotes saying he wants to be the greatest defensive player of all time and he just wants to play football. Well, no matter how good of an individual player you are, you still have to play as part of a team. Football is a team sport. Winning teams may have great individual players, but those players know how to be part of a team as well. Haynesworthless only knew how to be part of team Haynesworth.
So, when a player is signed for $100M, fans should be able to expect that player to do whatever it takes to earn that money. Instead, the up-front paycheck allowed a selfish player to make his own demands and pout and complain when the reality differed from the expectation. Media coverage did make a bigger deal about the whole drama, but in this case it was almost warranted. As far as I can tell, no effort was made to ensure the fans that their investment was going to turn out ok. Sure, you can also blame the owners and paycheck writers who created the situation, but it all really comes down to a player who is more concerned with himself than what everyone else cares about - the team.
This should really be a lesson to all professional athletes and can even be related to any large business or service group - remember where the money is coming from. Remember that you are part of a bigger whole that represents a lot more than yourself. Remember that the people indirectly paying your salary deserve a certain amount of responsibility and respect. If that is non-present, then you should expect that respect to not be reciprocated.
So, when a player is signed for $100M, fans should be able to expect that player to do whatever it takes to earn that money. Instead, the up-front paycheck allowed a selfish player to make his own demands and pout and complain when the reality differed from the expectation. Media coverage did make a bigger deal about the whole drama, but in this case it was almost warranted. As far as I can tell, no effort was made to ensure the fans that their investment was going to turn out ok. Sure, you can also blame the owners and paycheck writers who created the situation, but it all really comes down to a player who is more concerned with himself than what everyone else cares about - the team.
This should really be a lesson to all professional athletes and can even be related to any large business or service group - remember where the money is coming from. Remember that you are part of a bigger whole that represents a lot more than yourself. Remember that the people indirectly paying your salary deserve a certain amount of responsibility and respect. If that is non-present, then you should expect that respect to not be reciprocated.
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