I'm back, so I'll clear it up.... (I was just at U.S. Olympic basketball practice; for you Heat fans, Dwyane Wade promised he wouldn't retire and run off to Asia... "For at least 4 years," he said.)....
Here's the thing. By all accounts, Ricky likes Dave, and they had a pretty good relationship, man to man. (And I've been told by a few people Ricky really was disappointed that Dave was upset at him, after a supportive first conversation, on Friday. Not that I blame Dave for that. My visceral reaction would be angry, too)....
Most people like Dave. In all honesty, I do. Most of the reporters do. The goal (and the trick) is to not let that affect what I write, one way or the other.
But a lot of players, many still here and many gone, haven't been sold on his coaching methods.... Not every player, mind you. And in every locker room, there are players who, for personal reasons, don't love everything the coach does. So I always try not to make too much of what just one guy says, or what just one or even several guys say about what another guy thinks. I try to talk to as many players as possible. And I try to hear the other side -- in this case, Dave's perspective. Often, he has to sugarcoat things publicly. He has no choice. And so he did yesterday........
So why did I use this quote? I thought it was relevant, because Ricky has made his feeling known enough that several people, over the past two years, have told me how Ricky feels... So why didn't Ricky (or a number of other players) say that on the record? You can probably figure that out for yourself. Respect. Protocol. Not wanting to create a stir. Self-preservation. Kindness. Probably all of the above.
As for taking it out on the player I quoted, there's no need to do that. Any number of other guys has told, or would tell, me the same thing. (I actually had more inflammatory quotes I didn't use, in part because of the frustration of the day).... It was just his observation. These guys spend a lot of time together. They have a good idea how others feel about the coaches. So I used the quote....
This is a very complicated story. People close to Ricky are trying to explain his side, and sometimes it makes some sense to me. "Did you want the guy playing if his heart wasn't in it?" "Don't you think there are other things than football, and didn't he have a right to find one that made him happy?" "If the Dolphins really wanted him, shouldn't they have paid him like it, and if they cared about him, shouldn't they have been less hard on his body?" Etc....... Like I said, some of that makes sense to me. I tend to think we get so lost covering and watching in sports, we lose perspective sometimes. (The Shaq thing down here being the latest example. He has the key to the city. And he doesn't even have keys to a house yet.)....
But I ultimately came down on the other side of this issue, because I kept coming back to the absence of accountability and responsibility. In my job, I have to be accountable and responsible to others. I can't just blow off a deadline. Nor would I ever get another job if I decided, a week before training camp, that it was time to take a four-month vacation and dump all my work on others. Even if I've accumulated that much off time. (Which I probably have).
Mostly, I kept coming back to the timing. If Ricky had done this in February, March, or even April, people would have been disappointed. But I don't think they would have had any reason to angry....
I just don't think this is the thing you do, when your action affects so many other people, especially those (teammates, Dave, etc.) who stuck their necks out for him.... I think, once it got so late in the game, he had committed to a cause, of sorts, even if it wasn't one that inspired him anymore.... He should have given more notice, or he should have stuck it out.
That's just how I see it.
Anyway, back to work.
Ethan
Sorry....No more questions...Thanks again, for your time.
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