Whitlock "Here's why Trent Green is a Leader"

[Megbert]

Went back a few pages and didn't see a thread regarding this.

Link

Here’s why Trent Green is a leader

By JASON WHITLOCK

The Kansas City Star

Turns out, Trent Green bailed out more than just backup quarterback Todd Collins this week. On Thursday, Green covered for the walking public-relations nightmare known in these parts as King Carl.

Thursday morning Carl Peterson, the executive producer of the straight-to-DVD smash, “Chiefsgonewild,” poured gasoline on our favorite football team’s wild weekend.

Afraid that his 35-year-old quarterback couldn’t explain his involvement in a Stillwater, Minn., nightclub dispute, Peterson interrupted reporters to say that Green would answer only football questions.

“Specific to an incident involving a couple of our quarterbacks Saturday night in Stillwater,” Peterson injected, “I want it to be understood that this guy right here, Trent Green, was not a facilitator. He was a negotiator. Because of his efforts a situation which could have been pretty volatile was not.

“There were no charges filed, there were no arrests; the police were there. They were very pleased to have Trent there, and the incident is over with,” Peterson rambled on. “I would hope that people in Kansas City in particular never question the integrity of this guy right here, Trent Green, and what he’s done on the field and off the field. Along with his family, it speaks volumes about the integrity of Trent Green.

“This incident is closed as far as we’re concerned.”

And with that, Peterson wrote the blueprint on how not to handle the fallout when at least five members of your football team, including your unquestioned leader, wind up in three separate incidents involving the police.

We learned Thursday that Green and Collins, although not arrested or charged with any crime, joined Junior Siavii, Greg Wesley and Lawrence Tynes as known participants in the Sunday morning drama, “Chiefs Behaving Badly: Breaking Training and Noses.”

In three separate incidents, in three separate cities, Siavii and Wesley were arrested for disorderly conduct, Tynes allegedly broke the nose of a bouncer, and Collins and Green got written up in a police incident report that alleged Collins took a swing at a security guard and Green flirted with the female wait staff.

Wrapped together, this is all rather embarrassing. This is no time for anybody in the Chiefs organization to start giving speeches about integrity. You apologize, promise to behave appropriately and move on.

Not surprisingly, that’s exactly what Green did Thursday afternoon once he and the Chiefs realized how poorly Peterson handled the situation.

“It’s a mistake me and Todd made, that we all made, Junior, Lawrence and Greg,” Green told me in a telephone interview. “We all got into incidents at different levels, and it’s something we all regret. The main thing is it’s made us closer as a football team. We don’t want to do anything that embarrasses Coach Vermeil, Lamar Hunt or Carl Peterson. The fans of Kansas City don’t want to hear stories like this. We come up here to get better as a football team. The incidents were all different and were all different circumstances. The bottom line is they were wrong.”

That’s it. No excuses. No long, drawn-out rationalizations. Just the facts. At least with me, he didn’t waste time disputing what was in the report. Trent Green, the leader of the football team, got involved in an incident that put his team in a negative light, and for that Trent Green is sorry. That’s leadership.

It’s pretty much what I expected from Green. In his time in KC, he hasn’t ducked anything. He’s a high-character individual. Is he capable of a lapse in judgment? Of course, we all are. But Green has more than earned the benefit of the doubt, especially in an incident as minor as this.

Maybe the reason athletes appear to avoid taking responsibility for their big indiscretions is that when they commit a tiny indiscretion there’s always a King Carl around to tell them they did nothing wrong.

Green did tell me that Peterson and head coach Dick Vermeil have both addressed the team this week about walking away from situations that could turn volatile. And Green told me that he strongly disagreed with my contention that this year’s training camp has been too loosely run by Vermeil.

“It’s not more relaxed,” Green said. “Practices have been just as intense. Guys are still complaining about the length of practices and losing their legs.”

[milkman]

Originally Posted by HolmeZz

Twitlock tried his best to give off the impression that Trent actually did something wrong.

He did do something wrong!

As the leader of this team, he has no business being out in public.

He should be back in his dorm room studying his playbook, which he knows better than the back of his hand already, and dreaming of the day when he retires and he can go out in public.....What a dumbass.



Just in case you haven't figured it out, I am being sarcastic.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by hbkeay

I think it's amazing that everyone who posts here was actually present at the restaurant where Trent was and they know firsthand that he didn't do anything wrong. I'm not saying he did do something wrong (on a legal level), but there was an incident and he did apologize and now we can move on. What Carl Peterson did was not the right way to deal with the problem. Everyone hates on Whitlock for bashing Carl, but I think Carl deserves it. Whitlock created pressure on Carl (however big or small) to spend some money this offseason, and if there weren't people like Whitlock who were not happy with Carl's decisions, do you really think we would've acquired so many free agents this past season? Do you guys really believe we've been at the cap limit these past three years that we pissed away the most dominant offense I've ever witnessed? I support the Chiefs players no matter what. But I don't blindly support the Chiefs management. Perhaps this support for Carl and disgust for Whitlock is part of the reason we don't even know what Super Bowl means. In the end, you, me and Whitlock all want the same thing--a Chiefs Super Bowl victory.

Wow.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by hbkeay

I think it's amazing that everyone who posts here was actually present at the restaurant where Trent was and they know firsthand that he didn't do anything wrong. I'm not saying he did do something wrong (on a legal level), but there was an incident and he did apologize and now we can move on. What Carl Peterson did was not the right way to deal with the problem. Everyone hates on Whitlock for bashing Carl, but I think Carl deserves it. Whitlock created pressure on Carl (however big or small) to spend some money this offseason, and if there weren't people like Whitlock who were not happy with Carl's decisions, do you really think we would've acquired so many free agents this past season? Do you guys really believe we've been at the cap limit these past three years that we pissed away the most dominant offense I've ever witnessed? I support the Chiefs players no matter what. But I don't blindly support the Chiefs management. Perhaps this support for Carl and disgust for Whitlock is part of the reason we don't even know what Super Bowl means. In the end, you, me and Whitlock all want the same thing--a Chiefs Super Bowl victory.

Something tells me if and when the Chiefs win the SB, Jason won't be on the podium with Lamar.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by hbkeay

I think it's amazing that everyone who posts here was actually present at the restaurant where Trent was and they know firsthand that he didn't do anything wrong. I'm not saying he did do something wrong (on a legal level), but there was an incident and he did apologize and now we can move on. What Carl Peterson did was not the right way to deal with the problem. Everyone hates on Whitlock for bashing Carl, but I think Carl deserves it. Whitlock created pressure on Carl (however big or small) to spend some money this offseason, and if there weren't people like Whitlock who were not happy with Carl's decisions, do you really think we would've acquired so many free agents this past season? Do you guys really believe we've been at the cap limit these past three years that we pissed away the most dominant offense I've ever witnessed? I support the Chiefs players no matter what. But I don't blindly support the Chiefs management. Perhaps this support for Carl and disgust for Whitlock is part of the reason we don't even know what Super Bowl means. In the end, you, me and Whitlock all want the same thing--a Chiefs Super Bowl victory.

Do you honestly believe that Carl succumbed to pressure from Whitlock, or any outside source?

Oh, since you're new here, I should mention I have some beachfront property in Kansas to sell.

Send me a PM if you're interested.

[HolmeZz]

Originally Posted by hbkeay

I think it's amazing that everyone who posts here was actually present at the restaurant where Trent was and they know firsthand that he didn't do anything wrong. I'm not saying he did do something wrong (on a legal level), but there was an incident and he did apologize and now we can move on. What Carl Peterson did was not the right way to deal with the problem. Everyone hates on Whitlock for bashing Carl, but I think Carl deserves it. Whitlock created pressure on Carl (however big or small) to spend some money this offseason, and if there weren't people like Whitlock who were not happy with Carl's decisions, do you really think we would've acquired so many free agents this past season? Do you guys really believe we've been at the cap limit these past three years that we pissed away the most dominant offense I've ever witnessed? I support the Chiefs players no matter what. But I don't blindly support the Chiefs management. Perhaps this support for Carl and disgust for Whitlock is part of the reason we don't even know what Super Bowl means. In the end, you, me and Whitlock all want the same thing--a Chiefs Super Bowl victory.

I see Whitlock has family in Washington.

[hbkeay]

Originally Posted by SideWinder

Do you honestly believe that Carl succumbed to pressure from Whitlock, or any outside source?

Oh, since you're new here, I should mention I have some beachfront property in Kansas to sell.

Send me a PM if you're interested.

Yeah. I believe that if Carl sees that people aren't renewing their season tickets at normal rates, and that they aren't buying tickets, then he takes action. The last few seasons, the consecutive sell-out streak was in jeopardy many more times than in the 90's and when I had season tickets two years ago (when I still lived in KC), the local TV station had to buy tickets so the game wouldn't be blacked out. Now I don't think we should not go to games when the Chiefs are losing. But if Carl isn't doing his job (again, he had money that wasn't spent the past three years), then we shouldn't support him. This offseason, I have nothing to complain about. I think Carl did the best job of any GM in the league this year. But I can't say the same for his efforts over the last 5 to 6 years.

Also, let's not get into discussions about intelligence or naivete or anything like that. I'm not trying to attack your intelligence and I'm not one for low blows. And yes, I am interested in the Kansas property.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by hbkeay

Yeah. I believe that if Carl sees that people aren't renewing their season tickets at normal rates, and that they aren't buying tickets, then he takes action. The last few seasons, the consecutive sell-out streak was in jeopardy many more times than in the 90's and when I had season tickets two years ago (when I still lived in KC), the local TV station had to buy tickets so the game wouldn't be blacked out. Now I don't think we should not go to games when the Chiefs are losing. But if Carl isn't doing his job (again, he had money that wasn't spent the past three years), then we shouldn't support him. This offseason, I have nothing to complain about. I think Carl did the best job of any GM in the league this year. But I can't say the same for his efforts over the last 5 to 6 years.

OK, I get that.
Money talks.

But if the season ticket sales aren't affected by the team's performance over the last several seasons, then no amount of pressure from Whitlock, or any other media type, is going to have any affect on the way Carl does business.

Originally Posted by hbkeay

Also, let's not get into discussions about intelligence or naivete or anything like that. I'm not trying to attack your intelligence and I'm not one for low blows. And yes, I am interested in the Kansas property.

Just for the record, I wasn't attacking your intelligience.
Just trying to emphasize my point by trying to be clever, which, as you may have surmised already, isn't one of my strong personality traits.

But I gotta keep trying.

[hbkeay]

[QUOTE=SideWinder]OK, I get that.
Money talks.

But if the season ticket sales aren't affected by the team's performance over the last several seasons, then no amount of pressure from Whitlock, or any other media type, is going to have any affect on the way Carl does business.

[QUOTE]

[hbkeay]

[QUOTE=SideWinder]OK, I get that.
Money talks.

But if the season ticket sales aren't affected by the team's performance over the last several seasons, then no amount of pressure from Whitlock, or any other media type, is going to have any affect on the way Carl does business.

[QUOTE]

I'm sure Carl isn't reading Whitlock's articles or listening to his used-to-be radio show and taking notes on what he should do and who he should obtain (Ty Law). But Whitlock speaks directly to KC and most people who give money to the Chiefs. He can certainly influence the public and what they think of the direction of the Chiefs. I will admit, however, that Whitlock knows what he's doing. He is consistently making some sort of unpopular point and taking aim on the Chiefs. He knows what I know--that he's more widely read for it. I think people turn to see what Whitlock has to say before they read what Posnanski or Gretz have to say. But sometimes Whitlock is right, contrary to popular belief. I just happen to agree with Whitlock that Carl has made some big mistakes. But nothing I can't overlook when I see DJ, Surtain, and Bell on the field.

[stevieray]

[QUOTE=hbkeay][QUOTE=SideWinder]OK, I get that.
Money talks.

But if the season ticket sales aren't affected by the team's performance over the last several seasons, then no amount of pressure from Whitlock, or any other media type, is going to have any affect on the way Carl does business.

I'm sure Carl isn't reading Whitlock's articles or listening to his used-to-be radio show and taking notes on what he should do and who he should obtain (Ty Law). But Whitlock speaks directly to KC and most people who give money to the Chiefs. He can certainly influence the public and what they think of the direction of the Chiefs. I will admit, however, that Whitlock knows what he's doing. He is consistently making some sort of unpopular point and taking aim on the Chiefs. He knows what I know--that he's more widely read for it. I think people turn to see what Whitlock has to say before they read what Posnanski or Gretz have to say. But sometimes Whitlock is right, contrary to popular belief. I just happen to agree with Whitlock that Carl has made some big mistakes. But nothing I can't overlook when I see DJ, Surtain, and Bell on the field.

I think that's more indicitive of how tear down stories are more in the norm.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by hbkeay

I'm sure Carl isn't reading Whitlock's articles or listening to his used-to-be radio show and taking notes on what he should do and who he should obtain (Ty Law). But Whitlock speaks directly to KC and most people who give money to the Chiefs. He can certainly influence the public and what they think of the direction of the Chiefs. I will admit, however, that Whitlock knows what he's doing. He is consistently making some sort of unpopular point and taking aim on the Chiefs. He knows what I know--that he's more widely read for it. I think people turn to see what Whitlock has to say before they read what Posnanski or Gretz have to say. But sometimes Whitlock is right, contrary to popular belief. I just happen to agree with Whitlock that Carl has made some big mistakes. But nothing I can't overlook when I see DJ, Surtain, and Bell on the field.

Whitlock does write some controversial crap, but I haven't lived in the KC metro area in 22 years, so I can't speak to how much, if any, influence he has on his readers.