Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Darrelle Revis Sulking

Darrelle Revis has taken his sulking about a new contract to a whole new level:

Darrelle Revis' contract dispute with the New York Jets took a sharp turn toward ugly Monday, when the All-Pro cornerback admitted he reoved himself from a minicamp practice as a form of protest.

"Sat out for a little bit just to let them know I can play or I can't play," said Revis, who escalated the one-sided war of words by claiming the Jets' latest contract proposal was an "insult" because it contained no guaranteed money.

Initially, Revis mentioned lightheadedness and a pulled hamstring as the reasons for his decision to take a seat, but it was clear that he wasn't serious. He said he informed secondary coach Dennis Thurman that it was contract related, but that message never got to coach Rex Ryan, who was caught off-guard when asked by reporters about Revis' protest.
Let me say that I don't completely blame Revis.  Since owners can break contracts and cut players who are underperforming, I think it's perfectly reasonable for players to ask for restructured deals when they are clearly outperforming a contract.  Particularly in a sport as violent as football where a player's career is, generally, significantly shorter than say baseball or basketball.  The problem doesn't lie with management OR players - rather, it lies in the system of non-guaranteed deals.

That said, showing up at OTAs then bailing out when the rest of your teammates are working hard is flat out wrong.  Darrelle is one of Pitt's most recent success stories.  With Larry Fitzgerald, Lesean McCoy, H.B. Blades, Clint Session, Larod Stephens-Howlings, and Jeff Otah, he's part of that next wave of Pitt players in the NFL.  Please don't turn into a jerk, Darrelle.  After all, Mike Greenberg would be disappointed.

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