Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Costs of Kellen's crash

Three days after Kellen Winslow Jr. crashed his motorcycle in a Westlake parking lot, and information is still flowing slower than molasses.
Media reports from the Cleveland Clinic and Browns headquarters say Winslow has a bruised kidney, shoulder injury and other possible internal injuries. But what appears to have the Browns the most concerned is an injury to Winslow's right knee, which is still reportedly swollen.
The Browns are worried Winslow might have torn the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee, which would most likely quash most or all of Winslow's 2005 season. As it is, he probably won't be able to participate in any of the Browns' minicamps this spring.
Winslow's tenure with the Browns is quickly reaching the disastrous territory of Dajuan Wagner's three seasons with the Cavaliers. After missing 14 games and a $5 million performance bonus after breaking his leg against Dallas last season, Winslow stands to possibly miss all of this season and might have to pay back a $4 million signing bonus because he was injured during a risky non-football activity.
Winslow was a bonehead for trying to get in touch with his extreme side, but much of the blame could also belong on the shoulders of Winslow's agents, Carl and Kevin Poston.
Winslow's contract with the Browns reportedly lists motorcycling specifically among the non-football activities he is prohibited from engaging in. The fact that he was nearly killed in a crotch-rocket crash, and the fact witnesses told the media they saw Winslow pop wheelies on his 2005 Suzuki earlier in the day, as he left a motorcycle store in Canton, means one of two things:
1. Winslow has no regard for his responsibilities to the team that employs him, and doesn't give a damn what his contract says.
2. The Postons did not hammer home to Winslow his responsibilities to the team, and the importance of honoring the contract.
There will always be an element of issue number one floating in the air, but if you remember back to Winslow's two-week holdout from training camp last July, you'll remember the Poston brothers and their single-minded pursuit of top dollar for their clients. The Postons, in many NFL circles, define the word "shark."
There is nothing wrong with agents trying to get a good deal for their clients. That's one of the reasons they are employed. But another capacity agents serve is to advise their clients, to be their voice of reason. That is especially true in the case of some like Winslow, who is young and has a history of using poor judgment.
Perhaps the Postons were too obsessed with getting Winslow (and themselves) paid, and forgot about going over the contract with Winslow, including the boring stuff that doesn't involve paychecks.
Since we now know Winslow was blatantly riding a crotch rocket around northeast Ohio the day of the crash, we also know that if anybody had asked Winslow prior to the crash if he had a clause in his contract prohibiting motorcycle riding, the only two possible answers could have been "I don't know" or "I don't care." Both are fairly disturbing. Both show a high disregard for the Browns' organization, from Winslow, his agents, and possibly Winslow's hall-of-fame father, Kellen Sr., who has been closely involved with his son's career.
In the future, the Browns might not be able to take for granted that their players are going to use good judgment. Unless a Browns official tells a player to his face not to do something, apparently they have to assume it is as good as giving them permission to do it. It might insult the intelligence of many Browns players to be treated that way, but Winslow and his entourage have just lowered the bar for everybody.

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