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Adam Gase has been through this before . . .
And it can distract a football team.
Talking about player activism.
And expect quite a bit this year following the tragic death of George Floyd.
Some players, like Washington’s Adrian Peterson, have already stated they intend on kneeling during the National Anthem this year.
During the first wave of anthem kneeling, 2016-18, Gase was the coach of the Miami Dolphins, a team that had anthem-kneelers even after other teams stopped, mainly wide receivers Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson along with safety Michael Thomas.
Gase, and the Dolphins’ brass, tried, at one point, to have the three players go into the locker room during the anthem, and then come back out after, but that didn’t last long.
Obviously Gase had little control over what Stills, Wilson and Thomas were doing, but it hurt the chemistry of his team. And it distracted his team, there is no doubt about it.
Here is why it hurt chemistry and was a distraction – there are players on the team who disagree with them, and it impacted the team’s unity. It ripped at the fabric of the locker room.
Just because players were silent about what Stills and others where doing, doesn’t mean they liked it. Sometimes people confuse silence for support. It’s more that the players against it don’t want to become a national story, like Drew Brees found out.
Look, I’m not getting into the politics of this issue, just talking about how it can divide a locker room.
So Gase needs to figure out a way to navigate the current situation better than the first one.
Yes, to a degree, Gase’s hands were tied with those three players chose to do, but nonetheless, it hurt his teams.
Jets owner Christopher Johnson and Todd Bowles did a good job of keeping the Jets’ together with the arm linking initiative.
As I mentioned the other day, leaders like Steve McLendon, C.J. Mosley and Frank Gore could help Gase through this. Mosley will be the first Jets player to address the media since the Floyd killing and the riots that ensued, which led to the death of several police officers. Mosley will talk to the press on Wednesday at 2:15. The tone he sets for his teammates, through the press, will be of great import.
It’s probably important for these veteran players to let the other players know, that, “While you might be upset about what is going on in the country, your job here is to play great football and win games for the New York Jets. You work for the New York Jets football organization, and when you are at work, you need to focus on the job at hand. Yes, social issues are very important, but you can’t let them impact your focus at work. So it’s probably best to focus on social issues on your off-day (usually Tuesday), and focus on football when you report to work.”
It’s just like any other job. To quote Stephen Covey, “You need to make the main thing the main thing.”
Jets players are well-compensated to play football, and while they’re at work, whether it’s practicing, in meetings or on game day, they must focus on that.
Some of those Dolphins teams during the first wave of protests were houses divided.
Gase can’t afford to let history repeat itself.
June 9, 2020
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