Post by grizz299 on Jul 14, 2019 10:25:30 GMT -5
The answer is a qualified "yes'.
A 22 year old (plus or minus) kid in the bright lights of Broadway and all the world's drooling over the rock star and then there's the catch.
l He needed leadership and discipline and the coach I loved, because I thought he provided those virtues, folded and let him down. I think a benching and a bawling right during the Norman game might have made a difference and offered the tough love message 'its about team and not an individuall"....." Sit down and behave yourself because right now you're hurting the team".
The old man I loved ...caved. he betrayed his own principals.
The boat ride required special permissiona and a break with Giant tradition. Heretofore, a player that flew in with the team, flew home from the team and if you wanted to be in the city that had just hosted you, you got on another flight and returned. I was convinced at the time that it was folly and an insecure coach trying to be popular. It was the attention that the boat ride attracted that set up the toxicity. He put them in a position where if they didn't perform well the boat ride would become the culprit. But more than that; even though there were other players involved, i think it said: "OBJ you are bigger than Giant tradition".
There are no certainties even given the advantage of hindsight so it will always be a matter of purest conjecture, but I think proper discipline (everyone needs boundaries0 might have inhibited and even eliminated The ATtention seeking, "the spotlight is on me" behavior that led to the dismissal of one of the most brilliant and potentially likeable talents that ever wore the blue - or, for that matter, ever played professional sports.