Monday, October 02, 2006

A real NFL leader

On Sunday, October 1 Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was ejected from the game after he stomped on Dallas center Andre Gurode's face (early in the third quarter). An NFL player acting like an idiot. What else is new, right?

However I saw Haynesworth's post-game interview when asked about the play and sat in joyful surprise! When asked if he felt he should be suspended he said (hold your breath), "Yes, I certainly should be suspended. What I did was totally disgraceful - to my team, to the fans, to other players and to the NFL as a whole. I feel terrible that my children have the same last name as me. There is no excuse for what I did. I was wrong and I will go home and apologize to my wife and 4 children and ask their forgiveness." (not a verbatim quote but the essence of it).

Now that's a leader you respect. He made a mistake, everyone knew it, and he didn't try to justify it, explain it, defend it. He just admitted what everyone already knew and was a man about it. He was wrong. He was genuinely sorry. And there will be consequences for his wrong actions that He will live with. After a week of people following Terrell Owens for his latest "news," I hope the NFL media give a true leader like Albert Haynesworth one tenth as much time and ink as they normally waste on other "heroes."

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