Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Drill sergeants and football coaches have enjoyed license to address their charges in a manner that’s unprofessional and unacceptable outside the military and sports.
Soldiers might risk an insubordination charge if they respond with the same tone and tenor, and perhaps follow with lefts and rights. But NFL quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowls and Pro Bowls to their credit have no excuse for holding fire if a coach berates them during games while the camera rolls. Heat-of-the-moment arguments in competitive sports don’t have to be one-sided shouting matches, and respect should run in both directions between labor and management.
That wasn’t the case three weeks ago when Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton got in the face of quarterback Russell Wilson during a blowout loss against Detroit. The 13-second video of Payton yelling and gesticulating — while Wilson stands passively with hands on hips — told us everything we needed to know about their shotgun relationship.
Payton has shown his ass and Wilson has acted with class.
The coach deserved some invective in return, but Wilson is too much Mr. Nice Guy to respond like that. He’s won an NFL Man of the Year award for community service and he’s been clowned for corniness that drew his singing wife, Ciara. Wilson remained quiet and inanimate while absorbing that public tongue-lashing on Dec. 16, even more remarkable considering the behind-the-scene disrespect he reportedly faced before Payton benched him last week.
There’s no business like NFL business, among the nation’s iciest cold-hearted enterprises. Everyone understands that X’s and O’s on the field can conflict with years and dollars on the payroll. If Wilson was hurt in the last two games, he could receive $37 million in injury guarantees for 2025. If he’s not in Denver’s plans…
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