WASHINGTON — Albert Haynesworth said Saturday his $100 million contract doesn’t make him a slave to the Washington Redskins…. Haynesworth, who rarely speaks to the media, was upset this year when the Redskins switched to a 3-4 defense and told him he would be playing nose tackle. Haynesworth protested by staying away from the team’s offseason conditioning program and practices. He also skipped a mandatory minicamp and was unable to pass the team’s conditioning test until the 10th day of training camp - all despite receiving a $21 million bonus on April 1…. “I guess in this world we don’t have a lot of people with, like, backbones,” Haynesworth said. “Just because somebody pay you money don’t mean they’ll make you do whatever they want or whatever. I mean, does that mean everything is for sale?…. “I mean, I’m not for sale. Yeah, I signed the contract and got paid a lot of money, but … that don’t mean I’m for sale or a slave or whatever.”
I understand that making an obscene amount of money is no guarantee of job satisfaction. You can make millions and still hate your job. In the case of Albert Haynesworth, though…geez, d’ya gotta put so much effort into a complete douchebag?? Is that really necessary?
Never mind the fact that untold numbers of us would gladly trade places with Haynesworth. $100 million? Hell, I’d play anywhere Coach Mike Shanahan wanted me to, and in any kind of defense he wanted to play. And I’d be damned grateful for the opportunity. Albert Haynesworth? Not so much. I suppose his childishness only serves to demonstrate that being fabulously wealthy is no indicator of any degree of maturity or perspective.
No one’s saying that Haynesworth has to be in love with the defensive system he finds himself playing in. And playing nose tackle in the NFL is a tough job. You’ve got people trying to beat the crap out of you on every down, and that wear and tear adds up over time. Still, when Haynesworth accepted that $21 million bonus on April 1st, it wasn’t an April Fools Joke. In accepting the bonus, he committed himself to the Redskins, their defensive philosophy, AND his 52 teammates. If I was one of them, I’d be wanting to kick his @$$, but given that I’m about the size of a backup QB, I’d probably be keeping those thoughts to myself.
Still, $100 million doesn’t make Haynesworth a slave, and no one is saying he should just shut up and take his medicine. ‘Course, no one really wants to be subjected to the plaintive, whiny bleatings of a fabulously over-compensated athlete who makes more money over the course of his short contract than most of us could dream of making in our lifetimes.
STFU already…or just give the money back and walk away. Your choice….
