Foxy Hate

Nobody hates like Philly fans but usually the media (or at least the print media, i can't speak for the crazies on WIP) have been a little more moderated. But now comes Ashley Fox's bizarre column in which she feels compelled to trash Shawn Andrews and the Giants' signing of him. 

Strange It looks like a very good deal for the Giants - a minimal initial investment that will pay Andrews if he returns to his all-pro form over the next couple of years - which would be a win-win for one of the more star-crossed Eagles (and all NFL players) in recent years.

And yet, Fox's analysis that depression and a back injury make Andrews unsuitable to play, much less excel, or even deserving of a second chance are unbecoming. 

Before he got he got depressed, Andrews was talked about as a possible hall of fame lineman. Indeed, the next most mysterious thing in medical science besides the inner workings of the brain is the back, of which Andrews had a famously balky one. Still, if his claims to be healthy are to be believed (and why not, by all indications the Eagles got rid of Andrews because he became a distraction and Justice was playing well enough to take his spot, not because they didn't think he could recuperate from back surgery) than the Giants signing looks like a low-risk, high-reward proposition. The fact that it is a division foe and with an ex-Eagle only adds to the bitterness.

The larger issue for the media is why they are so quick to toe the corporate (i.e., official team line) when it comes to disputes with players. 

I live outside of Washington and everyday since the spring it seems there has been coverage of the Albert Haynesworth drama. What is so interesting is that from the very moment Haynesworth expressed displeasure with the team and asked for a trade, the papers and radio were filled with vitriol and demands and inquiries over how much the Redskins could recoup from their $100 million signing bonus given to him last year.

There simply is no other league where these discussions take place much less covered by mainstream journalists. Where was the outrage when the Sixers paid Chris Webber $48 million to cut him? There was never any talk much less groundswell of fan opprobrium that somehow not only shouldn't the Sixers pay him but that, in fact, Webber should pay the Sixers to part ways (as LaVar Arrington did to be able to leave the Redskins).

No one ever talks about the guaranteed contracts of baseball players and yet the double standard is that the signing bonus focus - and ways for teams to reclaim it - with full fan support - is always front and center during disgruntled pro football player discussions.