A Public Apology to Kam Chancellor

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Poppycock. Rob, it sounds like you are either in law enforcement or a hose dragger. So I hear ya when you talk about leaving the house and not being sure you will return. However, Kam is due to make over 4 million dollars this year. At my current rate of pay it would take me 57 years to earn that amount of money. Kam is not required to wear a bullet proof vest to work every day, I am.

If you gave me 4 million dollars right now I can guarantee I would never have to work another day of my life and I would live very comfortably. Who's fault is it that many of these guys can't manage their money and make it last a lifetime? He should easily be able to play out this contract and never paly again with he and all of his descendants being set for life. 4+ million for this year not enough..BS.

Nailed it.

Kam has lost his grip on reality. Sorry, but he has. He's lost perspective on the fans who equally put their bodies and lives on the line every day without the millions of dollars of compensation. Even those who don't -- to say he 'forgives' the ones who simply work their arses off for a humble salary and use the Seahawks as a release from the mundanity of life is elite-level arrogance.

He isn't the only person in the world getting less money than they deserve. Most can't do jack **** about it. Most can't afford to hold out for a month, throw away cheques and pay fines worth nearly $2m.

He shouldn't be saying he forgives anyone. He should be saying he understands the frustration of some fans even if they don't know the whole story (and why would they?) and he hopes to win back their trust on the field.

He didn't say that. He came out a load of tosh about God forgives everyone (apart from all the genocide in the Bible, but I digress...) so why shouldn't he.

It's no wonder he held out this long. His head is in the clouds.

Kam possesses skills that 99.9 of the population do not have. He makes millions because he provides an elite set of skills in a profession that demands it. And it results in a product that makes billions and billions of dollars every single year.

I get the money argument on a simplistic level, but it's not that simple. You have to know this? These athletes do put their health on the line, but they have also spent nearly all of their lives honing their skills, and living in such a way in regards to nutrition, fitness, and commitment that most people are not willing to do. That, along with natural talent, gets them to where they are. They put in the work that a vast majority of the people on this earth don't.

He can say what he wants. It's a free country. Of course there are repercussions to his words, because get pissed off. But I don't know if I could keep my cool if I had people spewing venom each and every day, all because I was doing something that was in my best interest (as ill conceived as it may be).

My point wasn't about the money. My point was a total lack of perspective and understanding on Chancellor's behalf as to why some fans weren't supportive of his hold out -- and the arrogant statement that he will 'forgive' those in that position.

Unless he's willing to reveal his side of the story so that fans can understand where he's coming from -- they're well within their rights to wonder what on earth he was doing during this ultimately futile hold-out while the team lost their first two games.

The hold-out was a total waste of time and money and that's what a lot of people see. He doesn't have to acknowledge them. He doesn't have to apologise. But fans certainly don't require his 'forgiveness'. As for the abuse -- I wouldn't call blocking Brock Huard on Twitter (and seemingly hundreds of fans) an example of a victim of abuse. More a person who doesn't want to hear or contemplate that what he was doing was ill-advised and fruitless -- or that anyone else might consider his hold-out in such terms. Some of the fans he blocked on Twitter were in bits about it and they didn't seem to be sending him anything remotely abusive. He's living in Kam World.

 

[peppersjap]

I think Kam is suffering from head trauma and we are all in denial.

A post I finally agree with....

I agree that I think the only reason he did this is because he thinks his window is very short. I highly doubt we see Kam here more than a year or 2 more. I hope I'm wrong but he made a very bold move with this hold out. What I don't agree with is that his earning potential ends when he walks away from the game, he will always have a job whether as a coach or an NFL annalist or a guy working for the local stations. The NFL will always pay him so I don't feel sorry for him.

 

[Rob12]

I don't have to apologize because I never lost my shit and posted mean things on his twitter, instgram, or even here. I can't even fathom why anyone would.

Doesn't mean that when the Hawks miss winning some prize, playoffs, division winner, or homefield advantage of any kind by a single game, I won't hold a single player, Kam, accountable for that. And it won't be an emotional decision, I am convinced that with Kam we beat the Rams, at the minimum. If that one game is the difference at the end of the year, that is on Kam.

Well good on you, Scotte. I did "lose my shit" a couple of times on Kam's Instagram. I thought the whole thing was stupid, but I was able to realize that I'm not Kam and I have no idea what was going through his head during this whole ordeal.

People care, quite simply, because wrong or right, we tend to feel that Kam's actions cost the Seahawks games. Who knows at this point, right? Maybe we're 1-1 with Kam. Maybe we're 2-0, or still 0-2. Who knows. So good on you for separating yourself emotionally from this whole thing, but I haven't been able to do that, and that is the entire point of this thread. I did get emotional, and in the grand scheme of things, that's pretty ******* stupid.

 

[Rob12]

No apologies here. Kam signed a contract that made him one of the highest paid players at his possitions and he took up front money and bonuses for doing so. It's true that the pain you talk about is surely in his future but that is also why he is paid at the level he is. Now I don't blame him for asking. There is nothing wrong with that. Holding out though hurt the team and its okay to be upset about it. There is all kinds of pain and risk in this world. Kam is already paid handsomely for his. So while I am happy that he is back I don't feel like he is owed apologies.

YES.

The op and others conveniently have forgotten that he was paid more than handsomely, in fact likely OVERPAID just a handful of months ago.

Now he wants more?

Dont we all.

Ask all you want. But then when the answer is a predictable and reasonable no, get your butt back on the field and get to work.


Kam was fine taking a deal at the time that he hadnt earned yet. Now he wants his cake too.

So glad JS was the man here and told him to take a flying hike.

Don't say he's overpaid. You have no idea what his future looks like, or the medical bills he may pile up. I didn't do anything "conveniently" as you claim. I raked Kam over the coals. I was brutal to him on here and on social media. And I realized it was stupid, and this post was owning up to a mistake. What happens from here on out has no bearing on this post, because I was a dick and I can admit it.

I want more money, but I didn't take life seriously. I was good in most areas of my life, but I never put in the work to be great. Kam did. And that's something that you forget. Kam is 226 pounds and six percent body fat, which I can only imagine means that he has great genetics but he also works his ass off in a multi billion dollar industry.

He's elite at what he does. He's the leader of this defense. Do we really want to be a team that sees a QB like Nick Foles throw for three bills against us? I don't.

 

[Rob12]

Poppycock. Rob, it sounds like you are either in law enforcement or a hose dragger. So I hear ya when you talk about leaving the house and not being sure you will return. However, Kam is due to make over 4 million dollars this year. At my current rate of pay it would take me 57 years to earn that amount of money. Kam is not required to wear a bullet proof vest to work every day, I am.

If you gave me 4 million dollars right now I can guarantee I would never have to work another day of my life and I would live very comfortably. Who's fault is it that many of these guys can't manage their money and make it last a lifetime? He should easily be able to play out this contract and never paly again with he and all of his descendants being set for life. 4+ million for this year not enough..BS.

Nailed it.

Kam has lost his grip on reality. Sorry, but he has. He's lost perspective on the fans who equally put their bodies and lives on the line every day without the millions of dollars of compensation. Even those who don't -- to say he 'forgives' the ones who simply work their arses off for a humble salary and use the Seahawks as a release from the mundanity of life is elite-level arrogance.

He isn't the only person in the world getting less money than they deserve. Most can't do jack **** about it. Most can't afford to hold out for a month, throw away cheques and pay fines worth nearly $2m.

He shouldn't be saying he forgives anyone. He should be saying he understands the frustration of some fans even if they don't know the whole story (and why would they?) and he hopes to win back their trust on the field.

He didn't say that. He came out a load of tosh about God forgives everyone (apart from all the genocide in the Bible, but I digress...) so why shouldn't he.

It's no wonder he held out this long. His head is in the clouds.

Kam possesses skills that 99.9 of the population do not have. He makes millions because he provides an elite set of skills in a profession that demands it. And it results in a product that makes billions and billions of dollars every single year.

I get the money argument on a simplistic level, but it's not that simple. You have to know this? These athletes do put their health on the line, but they have also spent nearly all of their lives honing their skills, and living in such a way in regards to nutrition, fitness, and commitment that most people are not willing to do. That, along with natural talent, gets them to where they are. They put in the work that a vast majority of the people on this earth don't.

He can say what he wants. It's a free country. Of course there are repercussions to his words, because get pissed off. But I don't know if I could keep my cool if I had people spewing venom each and every day, all because I was doing something that was in my best interest (as ill conceived as it may be).

My point wasn't about the money. My point was a total lack of perspective and understanding on Chancellor's behalf as to why some fans weren't supportive of his hold out -- and the arrogant statement that he will 'forgive' those in that position.

Unless he's willing to reveal his side of the story so that fans can understand where he's coming from -- they're well within their rights to wonder what on earth he was doing during this ultimately futile hold-out while the team lost their first two games.

The hold-out was a total waste of time and money and that's what a lot of people see. He doesn't have to acknowledge them. He doesn't have to apologise. But fans certainly don't require his 'forgiveness'. As for the abuse -- I wouldn't call blocking Brock Huard on Twitter (and seemingly hundreds of fans) an example of a victim of abuse. More a person who doesn't want to hear or contemplate that what he was doing was ill-advised and fruitless -- or that anyone else might consider his hold-out in such terms. Some of the fans he blocked on Twitter were in bits about it and they didn't seem to be sending him anything remotely abusive. He's living in Kam World.

Uh, why does he have to "reveal his side of the story?" Isn't it obvious? The dude is irreplaceable in this defense. Earl's comments resonated heavily with me. It's not just what he does on the field, it's how he helps the other guys do what they do. I don't have to wonder what he was doing because I've seen our defense go to absolute crap without him. There has to be a point where you can see this too, and understand the value that he brings to this team. I don't know how anyone could reasonably argue at this point that he's not the most important player on the entire 53 man roster.

I'll respectfully disagree about the whole social media aspect. His Instagram page was brutal - littered with fans that were calling him a piece of **** and plenty of other insults. Those seem to be the ones he is addressing. He retweeted the article where Ray Lewis told him to get his *** back on the field. I don't think he was above constructive criticism, but he was tired of the constant harassment that was taking place. I don't know, man. By my count, I'd guess roughly 60-70 percent of the comments on his pages were flat out insulting. I don't think it has much to do with not wanting to hear articulate individuals telling him why what he was doing was wrong. At some point, you're going to start growing tired of everyone's opinion that what you're doing is wrong, without walking a single step in your shoes. I followed him closely throughout this whole ordeal, and the comments were absolutely brutal.

 

[volsunghawk]

Mad respect to the OP.

Seconded. It takes a great deal of self-awareness when recognize when you've gone beyond the pale in your reactions to something, and a great deal of guts to admit it publicly.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Uh, why does he have to "reveal his side of the story?"

I explained why in my reply. He says he will forgive fans for questioning his hold out, implying that they're in the wrong while also acknowledging they don't understand his position. The only way for fans to truly understand this truly hopeless hold out is to explain it to them. Otherwise fans will go on wondering why on earth he held out as long as he did -- seeing as it appears to be a complete and utter waste of time and money.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Uh, why does he have to "reveal his side of the story?"

I explained why in my reply. He says he will forgive fans for questioning his hold out, implying that they're in the wrong while also acknowledging they don't understand his position. The only way for fans to truly understand this truly hopeless hold out is to explain it to them. Otherwise fans will go on wondering why on earth he held out as long as he did -- seeing as it appears to be a complete and utter waste of time and money.

Like some others have said, I think Kam was more referring to the jackass fans that he blocked due to being rude or downright nasty when he said he forgives the fans.

Not so much saying we're all wrong for criticizing his holdout.

 

[Hawkpower]

No apologies here. Kam signed a contract that made him one of the highest paid players at his possitions and he took up front money and bonuses for doing so. It's true that the pain you talk about is surely in his future but that is also why he is paid at the level he is. Now I don't blame him for asking. There is nothing wrong with that. Holding out though hurt the team and its okay to be upset about it. There is all kinds of pain and risk in this world. Kam is already paid handsomely for his. So while I am happy that he is back I don't feel like he is owed apologies.

YES.

The op and others conveniently have forgotten that he was paid more than handsomely, in fact likely OVERPAID just a handful of months ago.

Now he wants more?

Dont we all.

Ask all you want. But then when the answer is a predictable and reasonable no, get your butt back on the field and get to work.


Kam was fine taking a deal at the time that he hadnt earned yet. Now he wants his cake too.

So glad JS was the man here and told him to take a flying hike.

Don't say he's overpaid. You have no idea what his future looks like, or the medical bills he may pile up. I didn't do anything "conveniently" as you claim. I raked Kam over the coals. I was brutal to him on here and on social media. And I realized it was stupid, and this post was owning up to a mistake. What happens from here on out has no bearing on this post, because I was a dick and I can admit it.

I want more money, but I didn't take life seriously. I was good in most areas of my life, but I never put in the work to be great. Kam did. And that's something that you forget. Kam is 226 pounds and six percent body fat, which I can only imagine means that he has great genetics but he also works his ass off in a multi billion dollar industry.

He's elite at what he does. He's the leader of this defense. Do we really want to be a team that sees a QB like Nick Foles throw for three bills against us? I don't.

You missed my point.

Kam signed a deal that was not in line with his accomplishments at the time. Overpaid in respect to his position.

Were you on .net at the time? This place went crazy at the stupidity of the contract.

So yeah he was overpaid at the time, relatively speaking. The guy had no problem with the FO rewarding the potential they saw in him....and now he has the audacity to pull this stunt and call them petty.

I'm glad JS and company told him to suck it.

 

[Hawkpower]

Uh, why does he have to "reveal his side of the story?"

I explained why in my reply. He says he will forgive fans for questioning his hold out, implying that they're in the wrong while also acknowledging they don't understand his position. The only way for fans to truly understand this truly hopeless hold out is to explain it to them. Otherwise fans will go on wondering why on earth he held out as long as he did -- seeing as it appears to be a complete and utter waste of time and money.

Like some others have said, I think Kam was more referring to the jackass fans that he blocked due to being rude or downright nasty when he said he forgives the fans.

Not so much saying we're all wrong for criticizing his holdout.

Was that before or after he got on twitter to call out the team, and cry and complain about his situation?

I may have missed it....did Kam make a list of the people that he hoped would forgive HIM for his actions?

Again, he may have. I didnt see the presser.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Like some others have said, I think Kam was more referring to the jackass fans that he blocked due to being rude or downright nasty when he said he forgives the fans.

Not so much saying we're all wrong for criticizing his holdout.

I hope that is the case, although I think things like blocking Brock Huard on Twitter and a lot of fans who certainly didn't send abuse suggests he wasn't prepared to consider or contemplate any suggestion that his hold-out was misguided or a waste of time. There's certainly a chance he was referring merely to abuse as you suggest, I think there's also a very good chance he's created this 'for or against' mentality and isn't considering why some decent, humble fans just simply didn't see the point in his actions -- and that he is now saying he 'forgives' them for what is a perfectly acceptable position to take. He was blocking people for saying things like, 'we need you'.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Like some others have said, I think Kam was more referring to the jackass fans that he blocked due to being rude or downright nasty when he said he forgives the fans.

Not so much saying we're all wrong for criticizing his holdout.

I hope that is the case, although I think things like blocking Brock Huard on Twitter and a lot of fans who certainly didn't send abuse suggests he wasn't prepared to consider or contemplate any suggestion that his hold-out was misguided or a waste of time. There's certainly a chance he was referring merely to abuse as you suggest, I think there's also a very good chance he's created this 'for or against' mentality and isn't considering why some decent, humble fans just simply didn't see the point in his actions -- and that he is now saying he 'forgives' them for what is a perfectly acceptable position to take. He was blocking people for saying things like, 'we need you'.

Oh I didn't say I bought this excuse.

Kam's a supremely confident person, so I have no doubt he has ZERO regret with what he did. Therefore, why would he think he needs to apologize?

If I had to assign a percentage, I'd say this statement was 60% I forgive the fans who were hating on me, and 40% delusional I don't think I need to apologize to anyone.

 

[ZagHawk]

I understand why Kam did what he did. I didn't approve of it. He doesn't owe me an apology, but I certainly don't owe him one either. I'm going to try my best to ignore the past because you can't move forward dwelling on it, and I realize our team is emotional the last thing they need is to feel like their own fans turned on them. But if the Hawks miss the SB due to a close loss on the road in an NFCCG especially in GB. I (and a number of other fans) will be looking back to these first two games thinking what if.

 

[ZagHawk]

btw fine us normal people may not understand the life of an NFL player. But those NFL players don't understand the lives of normal people either. Fine holdout because the contract is unfair and you've outplayed your contract. But just like we may not understand his situation. He has no idea what it's like being a normal person making normal salaries watching millionaires complaining about their pay and holding out from their job for more millions. It will take the average person several years to even make one of his single game checks.

 

[Rob12]

Uh, why does he have to "reveal his side of the story?"

I explained why in my reply. He says he will forgive fans for questioning his hold out, implying that they're in the wrong while also acknowledging they don't understand his position. The only way for fans to truly understand this truly hopeless hold out is to explain it to them. Otherwise fans will go on wondering why on earth he held out as long as he did -- seeing as it appears to be a complete and utter waste of time and money.

Agreed that it was ultimately a waste, Rob. I respect your opinion a lot but I think we just disagree on this one. I think it's pretty apparent why he held out, and perhaps he doesn't want to publicly disclose any medical issues or thoughts he has because that's really no one's business.

I think the forgiveness aspect was referring to the idiots (like me) who we were constantly blasting him on social media. I never called him names but I offered a strong opinion on what I thought of his hold out. But some people, you would guess that they wanted bodily harm to befall the man.

 

[had2bhawk]

Kam, I too apologize for not seeing your problem w/math. Please give your paycheck to someone that is capable of adding/subtracting, this way you will not have to go through the embarrassment again. The FO will probably bail you out this time but, don't press your luck this next season. Now get in there and live up to the job you put your signature on. Oh, by the way. You could of purchased a Home like Brother Russell with your 5 million signing bonus. Tough Life!

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Like some others have said, I think Kam was more referring to the jackass fans that he blocked due to being rude or downright nasty when he said he forgives the fans.

Not so much saying we're all wrong for criticizing his holdout.

I hope that is the case, although I think things like blocking Brock Huard on Twitter and a lot of fans who certainly didn't send abuse suggests he wasn't prepared to consider or contemplate any suggestion that his hold-out was misguided or a waste of time. There's certainly a chance he was referring merely to abuse as you suggest, I think there's also a very good chance he's created this 'for or against' mentality and isn't considering why some decent, humble fans just simply didn't see the point in his actions -- and that he is now saying he 'forgives' them for what is a perfectly acceptable position to take. He was blocking people for saying things like, 'we need you'.

Oh I didn't say I bought this excuse.

Kam's a supremely confident person, so I have no doubt he has ZERO regret with what he did. Therefore, why would he think he needs to apologize?

If I had to assign a percentage, I'd say this statement was 60% I forgive the fans who were hating on me, and 40% delusional I don't think I need to apologize to anyone.

I don't think he needs to apologise.

I think he can stand to try and understand why some fans didn't agree with the hold out though. In my first post in this thread I suggested a position like this -- 'I understand why some reasonable-minded questioned the hold-out. I aim to win back their trust on the field' -- would be a fantastic bridge-builder for those who haven't sent abuse and yet seem to be being bound together with those who did.

 

[jammerhawk]

I really don't think anyone needs to apologize except Kam. However if you feel better apologizing go for it. However I sure don't expect Kam to apologize to the fans or to his team.

He let his team down and broke Pete's #1 rule of protecting the team, I forgive him and we all need to put this behind us.

If he's genuinely back and not just back b/c he needed to be back for money or to kvetch then it's all good and lessons were learned some of them costly to Kam.

 

[CodeWarrior]

Lol I almost can't believe this thread is real.

 

[kearly]

Folks are always looking for that one athlete that really would just play for the love of the game. That athlete does not exist.

Today the average pay for an NFL player is around $2 million. The average league salary at the dawn of the NFL was $25,000 a year, which would be for about $156,400 when adjusted for today's dollars. If you were an NFL player in 1969, you got paid roughly the same amount of money as the cameraman that was filming you play. And you wouldn't be doing it long, as players had even shorter careers in the olden days since they had less health protections.

Yet the NFL still had no shortage of people who showed up to play. Obviously these guys wouldn't play for free, but they would play for a hell of a lot less than what they are getting paid today if they had to. The NFL isn't just some job that pays well. It's a lifelong dream to play in the NFL.

In fairness to your point, some players do play mainly for money and we shouldn't hold that against them. Their priorities in life are none of our business.