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There is no question Darrelle Revis is a great player. Now he needs to become a great leader.
He can talk about the locker room “disarray” all he wants, but he needs to help do something about it.
Revis was on ESPN yesterday, stopping by a variety of shows, doing a number of different interviews.
During an appearance on SportsCenter, Revis was asked about the Jets locker room, and he described it as “disarray right now.”
If you’re the Jets management, you have to be ticked off at Revis throwing fuel on the fire.
First off all, the locker room can’t be in “disarray right now” because nobody is there. The off-season program didn’t start yet. It doesn’t start until April 16.
If it’s in “disarray right now,” than equipment manager Gus Granneman needs to get it in working order, because the only disarray it can be in right now is related to underwear and towels on the floor.
You might say I’m playing semantics, but none of us know how it will be when they starting working together, after three-and-half months off away.
Perhaps things will be better. As they say, time heals all wounds.
Revis’ comment was somewhat irresponsible.
And honestly, he needs to be more of a leader.
There is no question he’s a great player, perhaps the best cornerback in the league.
But he needs to get more involved in fixing the problem, don’t distance himself from it. By making comments like that on national television, he’s not acting like a leader at all.
And leaders also don’t make comment likes this on national television regarding the signing of Tim Tebow – “It was a circus, and it’s going to be even more of a circus with him in the locker room.”
How is that helpful? A circus can’t come to town, unless it’s invited. The elephants, acrobats and clowns don’t just show up to a town and start performing. They need a permit.
It doesn’t have to be a circus. It all depends on how the Jets management handles this situation, and how their coaches and players answer questions.
But Revis is throwing it out there that it’s a foregone conclusion that it’s going to be a circus, and that the locker room is in “disarray.”
What kind of leadership is that? When the best player on the team makes statements like that, those are very powerful words, and everyone listens, in the locker room and outside of it.
He’s making things worse.
And if you are a leader, you don’t blow off reporters on baggy day, like Revis did, you stand by your locker, like L.T. did after the Miami game, and you send our strong messages, via the media, like, “this season was unacceptable, and we need to do everything in our power to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
As for the locker problems, most it stems from one man – Santonio Holmes. L.T. eloquently addressed how Holmes needs to change his attitude, and Revis has said nothing.
Revis is a guy who can maybe get through to Holmes. When you are as good as Revis, everyone respects you, even the malcontents. Revis needs to do everything in his power to try to get through to Holmes this off-season, subtly steer him in the right direction.
Making controversial comments on ESPN, a few weeks before the off-season programs opens, doesn’t show much leadership, and makes matters worse.
Darrelle you are an all-time great player – now it’s time for you to become an all-time great leader.
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