We in the media battle for access. To coaches, to players, to executives. It’s important to speak to people who actually play or orchestrate the games or make decisions that impact them.
But that’s not universal.
Just because a person happens to be in possession of a mouth and a roster spot doesn’t mean his words are going to be logical or useful.
It’s the same way with us – just because we have a press pass and a laptop, doesn’t mean we’ll be writing anything worth reading.
All this to get me to Broncos safety T.J. Ward.
Thursday night, after the Broncos final preseason game, Ward was asked about the one-game suspension he was given by Roger Goodell.
It’s important to note Ward’s offense: tossing a mug at a female bartender in an all-nude strip club after the woman told him that outside drinks weren’t allowed. The charges were dropped after Ward agreed to community service. You can look at a recounting of the incident. Morons being morons all across the board.
New England Patriots
Ward’s response to why he was suspended?
Hey, T.J.? All that s*** on your TV with Brady walking around in a suit for the last few months? That’s because he got suspended. A suspension four times as long as yours.
This is the stupidity we’re dealing with.
Ward works for a franchise with incident after incident – from the owner’s son, to the executives down to the players – of stupidity that puts the general populace at risk.
Brady got suspended because the NFL believed someone took air out of footballs at Brady’s direction before the AFC Championship Game. The NFL’s evidence wasn’t real compelling. It still tried to ramrod their punishment down his throat. A court finally told them – in essence, Goodell – that the whole process was so bastardized that American justice couldn’t stand it.
So, T.J., you and Brady are on the same side. You both got suspended by the NFL and Roger Goodell.
Ward’s intelligence is certainly worth questioning when you combine the incident (which, reading the account wasn’t extreme, simply arrogant and entitled) and your understanding of what happened with Brady.
And the column by longtime Denver Post nitwit Mark Kiszla does nothing to point out that the column’s money quote makes no sense at all.
I think that’s been one of the most eye-opening and discouraging aspects of this whole process with Brady. The absence of critical thinking among people offering opinions and analysis. Ward is a football player. That he misinterprets entirely what was going on with Brady and thinks Brady skated is stunningly out of touch, but what can you do? Understanding how to stop opposing offenses is his primary job. But to just pass Ward’s opinion on unchecked – to give it a journalistic thumbs-up without gently pointing out that Ward was mistaken in his understanding of how the Brady thing played out?
Many, many NFL players are extremely bright and insightful. That’s an added bonus for media and fans because their primary job is to play the game. For media, though, being able to capably explain and analyze isn’t supposed to be an extra.
Too often, it is.