SaxyIrishTenor wrote:
1.) Winslow's was a "fluke" in the eyes of the owners. Ben's will (or at least should) be an eye-opener. I think we'll begin to see some clauses in contracts now.
Those clauses have been prevalent in most, if not all, contracts for years. On the radio this morning I heard that Ben had even received a letter from the Steelers informing him that he could void certain parts of his contract if he continued to ride his motorcycle. Every athlete has a "well it won't happen to me" attitude. They almost have to have that attitude in order to play at their highest level, think how many times they've seen guys get carted off of fields with screwed up knees, etc.
My problem with Ben (besides always playing for teams I hate) is that he seems to be an arrogant prick most of the time. I hear it constantly that he's such a class act, but from listening to him or observing his actions I find that hard to believe. His refusing to wear a helmet is just more of his arrogance, IMO.
I hope Ben the person heals and takes some lesson from this. As a football player I'm really hoping they discover a career ending injury in there somewhere...
Wear a helmet, don't be stupid. This reminds me a lot of what happened to the Bulls/Duke point guard Jay Williams who was equally stupid. As I recall, he was riding to Bulls practice on his motorcycle, and the road hung a very sharp left... he didn't. This was in '03, and he's still recovering. Stupid.
SaxyIrishTenor wrote:
1.) Winslow's was a "fluke" in the eyes of the owners. Ben's will (or at least should) be an eye-opener. I think we'll begin to see some clauses in contracts now.
Those clauses have been prevalent in most, if not all, contracts for years. On the radio this morning I heard that Ben had even received a letter from the Steelers informing him that he could void certain parts of his contract if he continued to ride his motorcycle. Every athlete has a "well it won't happen to me" attitude. They almost have to have that attitude in order to play at their highest level, think how many times they've seen guys get carted off of fields with screwed up knees, etc.
My problem with Ben (besides always playing for teams I hate) is that he seems to be an arrogant prick most of the time. I hear it constantly that he's such a class act, but from listening to him or observing his actions I find that hard to believe. His refusing to wear a helmet is just more of his arrogance, IMO.
I hope Ben the person heals and takes some lesson from this. As a football player I'm really hoping they discover a career ending injury in there somewhere...
SaxyIrishTenor wrote:
Then I guess they'll start to enforce it.
Usually they only think about enforcing it when it causes an injury that prevents you from fulfilling your end of the contract. I believe the Bulls got out of all of Jason Williams' contract when he got in his accident. The Browns made Winslow pay back a large chunk of his signing bonus (although they restructured his deal so he could earn most of that back through incentives).
You can also bet they'd be a lot more strict with a scrub than with a star. That's just the way the sports world works. If Ben was a has been on a huge contract they'd void it tomorrow if they could get out of it. However, since he's a star they'll want to do nothing to upset him, because they want to keep him happy so he'll re-sign in the future (or renegotiate if the team needs help). So long as he can play he'll never get severely punished for breaking his contract...that's just the way it is...
SaxyIrishTenor wrote:
1.) Winslow's was a "fluke" in the eyes of the owners. Ben's will (or at least should) be an eye-opener. I think we'll begin to see some clauses in contracts now.
Those clauses have been prevalent in most, if not all, contracts for years. On the radio this morning I heard that Ben had even received a letter from the Steelers informing him that he could void certain parts of his contract if he continued to ride his motorcycle. Every athlete has a "well it won't happen to me" attitude. They almost have to have that attitude in order to play at their highest level, think how many times they've seen guys get carted off of fields with screwed up knees, etc.
My problem with Ben (besides always playing for teams I hate) is that he seems to be an arrogant prick most of the time. I hear it constantly that he's such a class act, but from listening to him or observing his actions I find that hard to believe. His refusing to wear a helmet is just more of his arrogance, IMO.
I hope Ben the person heals and takes some lesson from this. As a football player I'm really hoping they discover a career ending injury in there somewhere...
Then I guess they'll start to enforce it.
There's nothing to enforce if no games are missed, and the Pittsburgh staff stated this morning that they are confident Ben will be ready by opening day.
It would be a bad idea for the front office to squabble too much with Ben about this with inevitable contract negotiations in the very near future.
As far as if games were missed, you can bet they would have enforced it by recouping bonuses and docking pay. The Browns got a lot of money back from Winslow after he missed the season. Pittsburgh would have done the same, especially if the no license thing is true.
"As the memory of Williams' short stint with the Bulls fades, the questions are often asked: did the team release him right after the crash? Did he forfeit his salary? The answers: Williams had two years left on a contract that would've paid another $7.7 million. The Bulls put him on injured reserve and Jerry Reinsdorf gave Williams $3 million, even though he never suited up for another practice."
hammb wrote:My problem with Ben (besides always playing for teams I hate) is that he seems to be an arrogant prick most of the time. I hear it constantly that he's such a class act, but from listening to him or observing his actions I find that hard to believe. His refusing to wear a helmet is just more of his arrogance, IMO.
I have heard the same things about him and if I recall correctly, he was a little full of himself even when he was in high school. That aside, hopefully, he will heal quickly and learn some tough life lessons!!
"Regarding BGSU, I would think their biggest strength is that they never give up, They never slow down and they battle hard even after the other team scores. We have to be on our game and never, ever take the foot off the gas for a second." ~~USCHO Poster "BG was relentless. It's like they know that a good first pass on the breakout from a defenseman will almost always result in an odd-man rush against them - but they go in anyway and dare you to make that pass. All three of their goals were just grit and effort. That's a team any fan can be proud to support...they give all they've got." ~~USCHO Poster, AFTER Tech beat us #NeverGiveUp
#NeverSurrender
#Relentless
#Resiliant
"As the memory of Williams' short stint with the Bulls fades, the questions are often asked: did the team release him right after the crash? Did he forfeit his salary? The answers: Williams had two years left on a contract that would've paid another $7.7 million. The Bulls put him on injured reserve and Jerry Reinsdorf gave Williams $3 million, even though he never suited up for another practice."
Thanks for the link. I remember now. They could've voided the entire deal, but Reinsdorf gave him the $3 million mostly as a kindness gesture to the kid.
I would have kindly given him a plane ticket home for when he got out of the hospital.
Anyhooter, Ben has been released from the hospital. Also, his jaw is not wired shut, but rather held in place with screws. He will be able to eat soft foods during the recovery period, which means it will be much easier for him to get into game shape in time for the opener.
