Lavar Arrington calls Joe Gibbs a Coward

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by firstdown

This thread has really gone over board. Ok, I get that people do not like what LA said about Gibbs and I understand that but all the other attacks are getting bad. Most bashing him here for his play on the field used words such as "BEAST" to describe his play on the field. A bunch of people here were ticketed that he was not on the field more often and spoke out against GW and the front office. Now the same people are using the words like OVERATED and such just to bash him some more. Now we have moved it to ST death and how LA felt about ST. Who knows maybe LA has tried to patch thing up with Snyder but maybe Snyder holds the grudge. Its not like we have never seen Snyder do that before.

CPAYNE5 you say you never heard LA say how close he was to ST in his speach but the little part I found it seem as he did.

LaVar:
[He started by speaking of how he is "guilty of moving on," in football, in life, not taking the time to look back.] "This situation has forced me to face those issues that sometimes you really don't want to face. You imagine that your boys and your loves ones are okay and always will be. Sean, I love you as my brother, as my friend ... the rest of my fellows and my teammates that I never took the opportunity to tell you how much I love you guys, this is the opportunity to do it. I'm going to miss him with all my heart. ... I thought when he came to the Redskins that I was his guardian angel. I know he was one of my guardian angels. He was there for me. Today, he's one of mine."
After a song, Sean's 14-year-old sister, Jazmin Taylor spoke through tears. "All I want to see is his smile again. He had the best smile in the world." ... and "I know he can hear me. I'm waiting to see you again, but I know you are home."

That quote shows exactly what I'm talking about. He's speaking in generalities, and not specifics. It was in stark contrast to the other speakers that day. Go look at what Joe Gibbs, Buck Ortega, Clinton Portis, etc said that day. They were all very close to Sean and were there to honor him. They talked about specific events in their lives that Sean made brighter. LA did not. What he said was really no different that what anyone else was saying here on the Warpath. There was an outpouring of emotion here and on other boards, but none of us really knew Sean. LA didn't have much more to say about him than anyone else here did. To me, it just came across as very fake and very self serving. I accept that you may not agree with that.

[Dirtbag59]

"I root for the Redskins because how I feel about the fans outweighs how the organization treated me. I always take pleasure in taking jabs at Dan because people like him need that. There's got to be a person out there who's not afraid to do it."

I love this part of the article. The funny thing is as fans we probably all liked him on some level but calling Gibbs a coward is a great way to get yourself blacklisted on capital hill.

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

"I root for the Redskins because how I feel about the fans outweighs how the organization treated me. I always take pleasure in taking jabs at Dan because people like him need that. There's got to be a person out there who's not afraid to do it."

I love this part of the article. The funny thing is as fans we probably all liked him on some level but calling Gibbs a coward is a great way to get yourself blacklisted on capital hill.

Yeah, he was not very smart in saying the things he did. He could have been a very popular Redskins icon (possibly still will be) here in the DC area for a long time if he just chooses his words more carefully. Like someone else said, Sonny J has some very critical things to say about George Allen, but he's smart enough to not venture into that topic in a public setting. I don't know what to think of it. It's just kind of baffling to a certain extent.

[wilsowilso]

I don't get this NASCAR argument in the first place. The Joe Gibbs racing team wasn't struggling in any way when Gibbs came back to football. It was at the very least the fourth or fifth most powerful team in NASCAR when he came out of retirement. They were on a level to compete for the Cup championship on a yearly basis and there are only a handful of teams that are on that level. The Gibbs racing team had won Championships before Gibbs came back to football. Tony Stewart and the Home Depot team won the whole thing the year after Gibbs came back to the Redskins.

I'm not saying the Gibbs racing team didn't benefit from the new Fed Ex sponsorship and the extra 5 million a year in cash Gibbs was pulling in, but I promise you that one of the reasons Gibbs came back to football was because he knew that he had his NASCAR house in very good order and wouldn't have to worry about it so he could focus on football.

[irish]

Originally Posted by Hog1

Do you have some previously unknown insider information you can share? Or is this just idle speculation on your part?

It is a hypothesis.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by cpayne5

Yeah, he was not very smart in saying the things he did. He could have been a very popular Redskins icon (possibly still will be) here in the DC area for a long time if he just chooses his words more carefully. Like someone else said, Sonny J has some very critical things to say about George Allen, but he's smart enough to not venture into that topic in a public setting. I don't know what to think of it. It's just kind of baffling to a certain extent.

I think it confirms what we may already know about LaVar, he's got a touch of crazy in him.

[skinsnut]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Gibbs put his reputation on the line to come back to a team that was a complete mess, in no small part because talented players such as LaVar Arrington had no concept of putting team first, or leadership. Gibbs took the heat time and again and never said a bad word about any of his players in public (including Lavar) even when he could have called out his players. Gibbs (and others such as Williams) put in countless hours at the office and on the road to revive a sinking franchise while his 3-year old grandson was fighting for his life. There's no coward there.

So the people on this board side with Gibbs, that's how it should be. This is a Redskins' fan site and Joe Gibbs has done more for this franchise than Arrington ever hoped to accomplish. Arrington's career was, for all intents, a failure and he can blame others but he shouldn't forget to look in the mirror either. Gibbs has coached hundred of players in the NFL and Arrington is the only one who has said something bad about him. Maybe Arrington should think about that.

BULLSEYE!!

[Hog1]

Originally Posted by irish

It is a hypothesis.

got it

[sportscurmudgeon]

Lavar Arrington has never been a contender for "Mr. Congeniality" wherever he has been - - all the way back to his days at Penn State. His tenure here with the Skins included some bizarre statements and actions not the least of which was the grievance over his contract extension that neither he nor his agent seems to have bothered to read.

But even the blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

It always seemed to me that Joe Gibbs 2.0 was at least as much about the money going into the Joe Gibbs bank account as it was about winning football games in DC. So, maybe Arrington has a point there...

Nonetheless, this has nothing whatsoever to do with Joe Gibbs being a "coward". That assertion - and the one about how he might have flourished in Gregg Williams' defense - just make no sense at all.

But as to money being a huge motivation for Gibbs return to the sidelines ...

[holcknowsbest]

Originally Posted by EternalEnigma21

Pretty dumb move for business. How many times is this guy going to commit career suicide? I liked him when he was playing and often he was the only thing worth watching on our team, but he has mental issues borderline TO.

couldnt agree more........i love the guy but please stop talking bad about a good guy in joe gibbs and two the orginzation that we cheer for man....i mean people like teams more that players man, realize that please.......we all know lavar feels cheated but there aint shit we can say or do about it now lavar. you arent going to start a movement man, just decline the F-ing interview for gods sake. but i still love you 56, but shut up.

[redsk1]

"I always said — even when I played there — if we could ever get this guy to play within the scheme, study, and be a professional, he probably could be the most dangerous player in the league," Trotter said.

Arrington told the Times that Penn State coach Joe Paterno was responsible for the freelancer tag.

"Joe Paterno started the whole thing of me being a freelancer and it has continued through my whole career unwarranted," Arrington said. "I've been called a freelancer doing what I was asked to do. If I ran into any gap I wanted, how long would you keep me in the game?

(Former defensive coordinator) Marvin Lewis said, 'LaVar ran around like a chicken with his head cut off until I got here.' But I made a Pro Bowl before he got here."

Where there's smoke there's fire, generally. Three separate players/coaches all say the same thing. You know that x-girlfriend that always seemed to be in a crisis...that's LA.

[celts32]

[QUOTE=sportscurmudgeon;499800]It always seemed to me that Joe Gibbs 2.0 was at least as much about the money going into the Joe Gibbs bank account as it was about winning football games in DC. So, maybe Arrington has a point there...QUOTE]

If that is the case then why did he leave 5 mil and a possible extension worth 20+ more millions on the table last year? It seems to me that someone in it for the money would not have turned down that kind of cash. Joe Gibbs turned down countless opportunities to return to coaching over the years and only came back when the Redskins asked him too.

[MTK]

[quote=celts32;499846]

Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon

It always seemed to me that Joe Gibbs 2.0 was at least as much about the money going into the Joe Gibbs bank account as it was about winning football games in DC. So, maybe Arrington has a point there...QUOTE]

If that is the case then why did he leave 5 mil and a possible extension worth 20+ more millions on the table last year? It seems to me that someone in it for the money would not have turned down that kind of cash. Joe Gibbs turned down countless opportunities to return to coaching over the years and only came back when the Redskins asked him too.

Good point. He could have returned at any point during his 11 year layoff and there would have been countless teams waving blank checks in front of him.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I think it confirms what we may already know about LaVar, he's got a touch of crazy in him.

Matty sounds like to me he has a bit of the stupid in him,.....I wonder how well he knows Tiki?

[celts32]

[quote=Mattyk72;499850]

Originally Posted by celts32

Good point. He could have returned at any point during his 11 year layoff and there would have been countless teams waving blank checks in front of him.

Exactly...and he's friends with Arthur Blank of the Falcons and he tried to hire him for years. Joe Gibbs return to the Redskins had very little to do with money. I guess if you want to you could criticise Joe Gibbs 2.0 the coach...but Joe Gibbs character and integrity as a man could never be questioned.