Winslow-Browns Controversy

We know that Kellen Winslow has a "public speaking problem" going all the way back to college:



Apparently playing for the U is like joining the military and fighting a war. Instead of avoiding roadside bombs or insurgents, you're avoiding linebackers and safeties! (And if you don't like my analogy, I really don't give a "hell"! My readers don't freaking care about you! It's a war out there on the blogosphere! And you write this down: I'm pissed!) Fast forward a few years, and now Winslow is complaining about his GM, the same guy who writes his paycheck each week:

"There's obviously a problem [with staph], and we have to fix it," said Winslow. "Just look at the history around here. It's unfortunate, because it happens time and time again...A big reason I'm upset right now has to do with [the staph infection]...I heard from Romeo Crenell, and I heard from my position coach [Alfredo Roberts] when I was in the Clinic. I heard from my teammates. But I never heard from the main man - Phil Savage - and that really disappoints me. Sometimes I don't even feel a part of this team."

Where do you even start with comments like these?

1) Winslow may have a point about the Staph infections, but he should keep it within the team or just keep his mouth shut. How hard is it to have a private meeting with Savage or Crennell? I see no good reason, aside from just pure emotion, to call out his team like this. What good comes of it? The media pays further attention to the Brown's staph infection problem? The Browns decide to trade an injury-prone tight end who has an enormous contract? Winslow has very little upside with comments like these.

2) Staph infections are awful, and I've actually seen someone almost pass away because of one, but they're usually very hard to deal with around the locker-room. And since the Browns pay their players so much money, Winslow should give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're doing everything they can to combat the problem. Player's health, if common sense holds here, is paramount to a team's success in the NFL. So don't you think the Browns are trying their hardest to fix the problem?

3) Winslow should keep the big picture in mind. He was treated very well by the Browns after his motorcycle accident and they could have very easily cut his ass after the broken leg. Winslow also seems to forget that him riding the motorcycle was a breach of contract and that by almost killing himself, the Browns were well within their rights to dump him on the corner. Maybe if Winslow's dad wasn't so famous, they would have done that?

4) Some advice to Kellen: Don't complain about the GM because it looks weak and he's the guy whose determining whether or not you stay on the Browns. If you want a trade, ask for it, but don't go public and cause discontent. It's bad for the team and morale. And it's incredibly selfish.

5) The Browns were right to punish him because he's undermining the team leadership. What are they supposed to do? Let this one fly? If I was the owner, I would be royally pissed to hear our star player complain like this and call out the entire franchise. Who the hell does he think he is?

6) The Brown's GM explained why they suspended Winslow here (and I think this a very good set of reasons):

"After all of us had been through since 2005, the comments really called into question the integrity of our medical staff and the organization as a whole," Savage said. "To compromise that trust after the Browns had stood by Kellen through the motorcycle episode and knowing without question we had done everything in our power to combat this staph infection problem, it just showed a lack of professional restraint. The Browns are bigger than one person, bigger than Randy Lerner, bigger than Romeo Crennell, bigger than me and bigger than any player on this team. We couldn't and won't allow one person to tear down the organization, so we had to do something."

Bottom-line: don't call out your GM because you look like a pansy. And don't call out your employer because you look like an asshole and your teammates will suffer.