But I think it's worth taking a minute to express some appreciation for the way Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talked about the punch in his post-game press conference. It would've been easy for any opposing coach to hammer Seymour, because for a brief moment, he was mindless and violent.
Tomlin wouldn't do it, though. Here's what he said.
"I got big-time respect for Richard Seymour as a football player. That guy's got an 11-year resume that's pretty impressive as a professional. I'm not going to let that play cloud my opinion on Richard Seymour. I think he's an awesome football player and a professional. It just got away from us, all parties involved today."That's a thoughtful man taking the high road. It feels like that's too rare in sports.
The non-stop demand for media coverage of the NFL creates an unforgiving, knee-jerk, rush-to-judgment, you-are-what-you-did-five-minutes-ago type of atmosphere. It's not always fair. And in this case, it would have been completely fair for Tomlin to throw Seymour under a bus, because what he did was inexcusable.
Instead, Tomlin chose to be forgiving and understanding while acknowledging that both teams got heated out there. He put Seymour's 11-year career ahead of one angry, frustrated lapse.
It was a classy and good-hearted way for Mike Tomlin to handle things. Seymour set a ridiculous example for any young football player watching, but Tomlin took it and flipped it into an opportunity to set a good example.
0 comments:
Post a Comment