I don't think any real sports fan has ever forgotten Latrell Sprewell's quote in 2004 when he turned down a 3 year $21 million dollar contract extension from the Minnesota Timberwolves:
Yeah, $21 million, who could possibly eat off that?
Well we now have a new contender for Sprewell's throne for most financially out of touch pro player.
The guy's name is Kerry Rhodes and he fancies himself a model and an actor while his day job is formerly starting safety for the New York Jets.
I say formerly because he has just been demoted by first year head coach Rex Ryan. The same Rex Ryan who had been the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens. The same Rex Ryan who had favorably compared Rhodes to his all world safety in Baltimore, Ed Reed, prior to the season starting.
Having watched Rhodes play all year I was only surprised that it took this long to bench him. The guy had become a liability on defense and he didn't look very brave on some of his tackling opportunities.
Now I am not saying that his modeling or acting had anything to do with his fall off in play, but I will say this. I never was a fan of guys doing too much during the season. There is plenty of time in the off season to pursue other interests, ball to you fall, go back to school, whatever a guy might want to do. But when the season is going on I liked to know that guys were singularly focused on winning games. And I just don't know how you can give that kind of commitment if every Tuesday you are chasing other dreams.
But I digress.
This article on Rhodes' benching is pretty much predictable right until you get to his quote at the end justifying his modeling and acting pursuits.
Yeah Kerry Rhodes, with unemployment over 10% in this country and people losing their homes everyday, I am sure all of those Jets fans are gonna be REALLY sympathetic to you needing more than the almost $10 million dollars you are making in this year alone so you can "pay your bills".
To call that a dumbass statement would be an insult to dumbass statements.
If that really is Kerry Rhodes' mentality then some how I doubt he will ever be the player that some folks thought he might become. He certainly has taken several steps back this season.
But who knows, maybe he will be the next Denzel.
And perhaps then he will never again have to worry about covering that pesky light bill.
It is what it is.
"I have a family to feed"
Yeah, $21 million, who could possibly eat off that?
Well we now have a new contender for Sprewell's throne for most financially out of touch pro player.
The guy's name is Kerry Rhodes and he fancies himself a model and an actor while his day job is formerly starting safety for the New York Jets.
I say formerly because he has just been demoted by first year head coach Rex Ryan. The same Rex Ryan who had been the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens. The same Rex Ryan who had favorably compared Rhodes to his all world safety in Baltimore, Ed Reed, prior to the season starting.
Having watched Rhodes play all year I was only surprised that it took this long to bench him. The guy had become a liability on defense and he didn't look very brave on some of his tackling opportunities.
Now I am not saying that his modeling or acting had anything to do with his fall off in play, but I will say this. I never was a fan of guys doing too much during the season. There is plenty of time in the off season to pursue other interests, ball to you fall, go back to school, whatever a guy might want to do. But when the season is going on I liked to know that guys were singularly focused on winning games. And I just don't know how you can give that kind of commitment if every Tuesday you are chasing other dreams.
But I digress.
This article on Rhodes' benching is pretty much predictable right until you get to his quote at the end justifying his modeling and acting pursuits.
"If I can't have a living and do what I want to do besides football, maybe they should pay my bills," said Rhodes, who will make close to $10 million this season. "I have to think of my career outside football. Football is not forever."
Yeah Kerry Rhodes, with unemployment over 10% in this country and people losing their homes everyday, I am sure all of those Jets fans are gonna be REALLY sympathetic to you needing more than the almost $10 million dollars you are making in this year alone so you can "pay your bills".
To call that a dumbass statement would be an insult to dumbass statements.
If that really is Kerry Rhodes' mentality then some how I doubt he will ever be the player that some folks thought he might become. He certainly has taken several steps back this season.
But who knows, maybe he will be the next Denzel.
And perhaps then he will never again have to worry about covering that pesky light bill.
It is what it is.
Good stuff and I agree 100000%. You're a football player FIRST and FOREMOST and you must honor that. The season is only 4 months long (longer if you make playoffs) so you have at least 6 months to pursue other things. Dudes are allowing their newfound fame and other things take over their original job. I suggest Rhodes get back focusing on football of he WILL be in an unemployment line, since contracts aren't guaranteed.
ReplyDeleteThe NFL Chick
This is an exception case. What I mean by that is, I believe most players take their jobs more seriously than Kerry Rhodes but I do believe that too much time of the off season goes into conditioning and playbook work. I think players need more time to heal their bodies for the next training camp and season.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, Rhodes may be an idiot to pop off like that.