Sports fans have a short memories. Guys who commit crimes far more heinous than being a bad teammate or consistently acting like a petulant child are forgiven and eventually revered by the public, so long as they apologize for their past mistakes and make an effort to do better. What sports fans don’t respond to well to, though, is guys who refuse to repent for their sins.
And if you need an example of someone who refuses to even sort of acknowledge past errors in judgment, look no further than New York Jets wide receiver, Santonio Holmes.
In a conference call with reporters this week, Holmes was asked about his problems with various teammates last season. It was a perfect opportunity for the talented but emotional star to express some sort of regret about the prior year’s failures, and to pledge that he'll do better in the near future.
Instead what we got was this:
"It happened down in Miami, and that’s where it’s going to stay, down in Miami," Holmes said (via the Star-Ledger), in reference to the game versus the Miami Dolphins that cost his squad a playoff spot last season. The same game where many say that he quit on his teammates and threw the sort of hissy fit that you typically only see from the NFL’s true prima donnas.
"That happened in the 2011-12 season," Holmes said. "That happened in the past. .. We’re worried about the 2012 New York Jets football season, and if you’re not concerned with that, we don’t have anything else to talk about."
He was then prodded one final time about what transpired last year, given one last chance to express even a tiny bit of remorse. Did he have any regrets at all about how things went down in 2011?
His response: "Why should I?"
Wonderful.
The Jets seem poised for a very interesting season.
(Kudos to the Star-Ledger for the transcript)
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