A Public Apology to Kam Chancellor

[MontanaHawk05]

Some interesting thoughts, Rob. I'm still not sure about Kam's motives, but it's correct that the physical abuse (and sometimes early end) of football players isn't always worth the money they get. It's nice to see some thoughts on the matter not driven by blind populism.

 

[dino26]

I don't really think it's necessary for me to apologize for having an apposing viewpoint to Kam's actions. I also don't think Kam owes me or any fan a single damn thing in return. I'm just glad he's back. I really didn't think it was going to happen. Can't wait until Sunday. I have missed the Clink in a bad way. I will always cheer for our Hawks. It would be petty to do anything else.

Well said I feel the same.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Kam forgives you. Kam forgives everyone for his holdout

LOL, this was the funniest part of the press conference. It was big of Kam to forgive us for him holding out lol wut.

 

[LymonHawk]

I believe it was always about concern for his health and longevity. Doesn't mean I agree with his actions, but I can certainly understand his motives.

Personally, I don't feel I have the right to judge him as a human being (which is being done here). So we lost two games, big deal! Life still goes on. Maybe we all feel bad for a few days? So what? That's more important than this man's concern for his future and well being? Get a grip....please.

It's his life, he gets to live it...not by our standards, but his.

 

[jblaze]

Kam forgives you. Kam forgives everyone for his holdout

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

I don't really think it's necessary for me to apologize for having an apposing viewpoint to Kam's actions. I also don't think Kam owes me or any fan a single damn thing in return. I'm just glad he's back. I really didn't think it was going to happen. Can't wait until Sunday. I have missed the Clink in a bad way. I will always cheer for our Hawks. It would be petty to do anything else.

Well said I feel the same.

:13:

I believe it was always about concern for his health and longevity. Doesn't mean I agree with his actions, but I can certainly understand his motives.

Personally, I don't feel I have the right to judge him as a human being (which is being done here). So we lost two games, big deal! Life still goes on. Maybe we all feel bad for a few days? So what? That's more important than this man's concern for his future and well being? Get a grip....please.

It's his life, he gets to live it...not by our standards, but his.

.............and :13:





Thanks for your efforts to make our society a bettr place Rob (and everyone else that does that type of work)

 

[Hasselbeck]

ROB12- seriously, thank you for your service. However, with that said, you owe Cam no apology, note HE did not apologize to you/us. The man is self centered, and stupid, but we love to watch him play, that is a fact, and the ONLY fact.

Again, many of us that served in other areas (war) salute you and thank you for your service.

GO HAWKS

It's Kam. K-A-M.

Sincerely,
Grant Winstrom

 

[JustTheTip]

Was he trying to "bilk" more money, or just move money he was going to make further up in his contract? And if that is the case, think about why. I think Rob's post hits on the central theme of Kam's holdout, atleast in my speculation. There is a significant health risk to playing this game, and perhaps Kam's health is in great question at this time. He is trying to protect that money 3 years from now because perhaps he sees a significant chance he won't be around to earn it.

Kam's process was flawed. But I appreciate Rob's post bringing more light to the circumstances that surround the financial decisions football players make.

I can all but guarantee he would get to the last year that money was moved out of and and say "You can't expect me to play for 1 million dollars that is an insult." So I think bilk is the proper word.

 

[Sealake80]

Nice. This makes me feel a little bit better about all the disturbingly judgemental posts I've read recently at .net. We're all supposed to play soooooooooo nice with each other but for some reason it's ok to totally denigrate our players characters who we often know even less about.

 

[Uncle Si]

Kam forgives you. Kam forgives everyone for his holdout

LOL, this was the funniest part of the press conference. It was big of Kam to forgive us for him holding out lol wut.

I believe he was forgiving the morons who took to his twitter page to abuse him. If you were one of those morons than you should be thankful he's so forgiving...

(I mean I know YOU'RE not, but you understand the point)

 

[TwistedHusky]

One of my associates does some volunteer work with ex-NFL players.

You would be floored how many are on public assistance.

The brain damage thing is real, as is the physical toll this takes. An NFL career may last for 5 years but the physical cost in dollars on a yearly basis just for the medical complications is pretty high.

The other thing I find interesting is how many people hold it against NFL players that they made all this money and end up broke. Shouldn't that be a symptom of a problem? It is, since CTE affects over 90% of NFL players (based on the testing statistics). So what are symptoms of CTE? Lack of impulse control, diminished cognitive function, and poor judgement processing.

So should anyone be shocked that people with millions of dollars but significant brain damage lose their money? Even more when you consider some of the people that have bilked NFL players are often mandated by the team or the NFL as to be used as financial advisors, and NFL players are not entirely financially savvy in the first place.

But they get taken, often because they aren't thinking straight in the first place and "it is all their fault" according to the casual observer.

I love football. Love watching it. Loved playing it even though I was never good enough to go to college for it. But I am pretty clear on the toll it takes on the players, which is why I would never begrudge them the $$$ they make. Even more considering some of them have been preparing for this career since they were 8-10, hours every day, just to get to this level.

Then they leave, broken bodies and brain damaged, with a sum of money they have to make last or invest wisely - because what other career are they prepared for? Go check some of those degrees that college players get steered to (many do not get a choice in this if they want to play football, the team gets to decide their degree path & classes) and see how hireable they are.

I think it was a few years ago when my associate was sharing stories of guys I cheered for, and just how screwed they really are because they played a game. The brain damage thing is real, it is completely pervasive and I just don't understand how you can think a few millions can come close to compensating for things like daily pain, crippling depression and worse.

If you knew just how deep this goes, you would understand that they earn every penny they make.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Kam forgives you. Kam forgives everyone for his holdout

LOL, this was the funniest part of the press conference. It was big of Kam to forgive us for him holding out lol wut.

I believe he was forgiving the morons who took to his twitter page to abuse him. If you were one of those morons than you should be thankful he's so forgiving...

(I mean I know YOU'RE not, but you understand the point)

I know, it was just the way he said it, came off like "I forgive you for something I did wrong."

 

[Uncle Si]

Kam forgives you. Kam forgives everyone for his holdout

LOL, this was the funniest part of the press conference. It was big of Kam to forgive us for him holding out lol wut.

I believe he was forgiving the morons who took to his twitter page to abuse him. If you were one of those morons than you should be thankful he's so forgiving...

(I mean I know YOU'RE not, but you understand the point)

I know, it was just the way he said it, came off like "I forgive you for something I did wrong."

Well he's not done himself any favors with any of this, for sure..

 

[kearly]

Kam already has several million in the bank. He's already qualified for the NFL's lifetime health coverage. He's could retire today and be set for life. This was never about him fighting for his future. It was about greed, pure and simple.

Pete thinks Kam is going to be here a long time, and I'd bet Kam thinks that way too. How old was Lawyer Milloy when he retired? I think that Kam hopes to have similar longevity, and even if he doesn't, he's only 27 today. At no point in this entire ordeal did Kam ever threaten retirement, and all of his official statements to the media indicated that he's healthier than ever. And Kam has been a very healthy player so far in his career.

Kam is going to make mountains of money by the time he retires, he just wishes he had made a little more on that first big contract.

I think this holdout was dumb as hell, and I think Kam said and did some regrettable things during the process of it. I honestly don't care if health was or was not a factor in it, it was a poor series of decisions by Kam either way. That said, I interpreted his actions as 'business' related and not personal, so I don't think an apology is something that's needed. I'm sure he's saying stuff to teammates behind closed doors to smooth things over, and that's all he really needs to do.

That he 'forgave' fans that mistreated him on twitter isn't as condescending as it sounds, it's likely he got nasty messages by the truckload.

 

[morgulon1]

Kam already has several million in the bank. He's already qualified for the NFL's lifetime health coverage. He's could retire today and be set for life. This was never about him fighting for his future. It was about greed, pure and simple.

Pete thinks Kam is going to be here a long time, and I'd bet Kam thinks that way too. How old was Lawyer Milloy when he retired? I think that Kam hopes to have similar longevity, and even if he doesn't, he's only 27 today. At no point in this entire ordeal did Kam ever threaten retirement, and all of his official statements to the media indicated that he's healthier than ever. And Kam has been a very healthy player so far in his career.

Kam is going to make mountains of money by the time he retires, he just wishes he had made a little more on that first big contract.

I think this holdout was dumb as hell, and I think Kam said and did some regrettable things during the process of it. I honestly don't care if health was or was not a factor in it, it was a poor series of decisions by Kam either way. That said, I interpreted his actions as 'business' related and not personal, so I don't think an apology is something that's needed. I'm sure he's saying stuff to teammates behind closed doors to smooth things over, and that's all he really needs to do.

That he 'forgave' fans that mistreated him on twitter isn't as condescending as it sounds, it's likely he got nasty messages by the truckload.

Lawyer Malloy was a great player who had a very nice career. Not nearly as impactful or important to his team as #31.
Kam messed up and didn't get the money for his services that he could've received. In other words the Seahawks rammed him in the ass. All Kam has to do is look at a 30 something washed up has been we got from the Eagles who is making over 3 million more than him.

 

[Rob12]

Thanks for all the responses. Personally, I just had to step back and ask myself why I was judging a man that I do not know. We can speculate about his motives all we want, but none of us know his true motivations for doing what he did.

I'm indifferent about his holdout because one, I'm not him. Two, it's in the past. And to keep my sanity as a fan, it's time to move on. 14 winnable games left!

 

[Rob12]

About not owing him an apology - I disagree. I feel I owe him one. I tore into him on here, and also on his Instagram page. I was raised by loving parents who instilled me the desire to treat people the right way, even when they may not deserve it. Especially when you truly don't know their situation.

I doubt Kam cares about my apology. And that's okay.

 

[rideaducati]

How many people would gladly deal with the aches and pains later in life to be paid millions for several years in their twenties? I know I would. Most of us just don't have that opportunity. Those that do should realize the opportunity they have in front of them.

I'm all for players making as much as they can and I don't hold grudges for players that leave for more money. That being said, if a player signs a contract, he should honor it. I know there are those that try to tell us that the NFL doesn't honor their contracts, but those people feed on what the media gives them when deals are announced and/or don't understand the how and why NFL contracts are written. NFL contracts have to have an out or the NFL would end up like MLB and teams would be paying for players that just can't play anymore and there would be more awful teams every year. How many people enjoy watching players that can't play anymore still collecting a paycheck, because they can, instead of just retiring? I hate that.

A lot of players deserve more money than they are currently getting and I believe Kam is one of them. Holding out with three years left on the deal is not a good way to get it though. I didn't hear complaints from the Seahawks or Kam when the Seahawks made him one of the highest paid safeties in the league, so I don't support complaining when other guys get paid more. The Seahawks aren't to blame for the fortunate timing of Kam signing his contract and there weren't many people that thought that the Seahawks got the better deal when the contract was signed. It was only AFTER other players that weren't as good started getting paid more than Kam that Kam got upset, but those players were just as upset when Kam got his contract for the same reason. It's a vicious circle, but they have to start somewhere. It's all about timing, and Kam's timing just wasn't as good as those other guys. If he stays healthy and plays well, he should be able to make up for it with his next contract. Players should know that the "next" guy that gets his contract gets paid more than the guy that got paid before him.

The Seahawks couldn't do anything with Chancellor's contract because that would have set the NFL into a tailspin. Every agent with a player that is playing well would be in management's office demanding more money with many years left on their current deal. I'm sure Paul Allen fielded calls from almost every other owner in the NFL pressuring him not to cave to Chancellor's demands. That's why Paul Allen ended all contract talks.

There isn't any need to apologize for anything. Feelings are what they are and you can't control how or why you feel the way you do. Feelings aren't right or wrong and you should never apologize because of them. You should do what you can to be better informed, but along the way, feel away. I'm sure most people's feeling about Kam Chancellor have changed, it doesn't make them right or wrong and nobody should apologize for their new feelings.

 

[ilikedlargent]

Truth is you only know half the reality of an nfl player.No need to apologize to someone who doesn't know you or care who you are. 14 years? What did he do with the money?
I'm not being mean or negative. These are purely statements and questions

 

[cesame]

I hold absolutely nothing against Kam or any player that tries to maximize how much money they earn during their brief time in the NFL. It's business.