nelms Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I've gone to several of the "Rally around the Redskins" charity events that the Redskins hold annually and was told by several people there that Darrell was not the nicest of people in past appearances. I wanted NOT to believe this, but I experienced this myself. I have to qualify this story by saying that I am not an autograph seeker. I like meeting Redskins players, but getting there autograph is really not a big thing for me. I would never, ever, disturb someone that is with their family, having dinner, shopping, whatever. Anyway, I "ran into" Darrell walking towards an elevator that night before the event and politely asked him for his autograph. He shrugged me off like I was a peon and not so politely declined. He said "if you want my autograph, you can come downstairs and get it". I had no idea what he meant, until another person later told me that you can get Darrell's autograph and a photo with him in the ball room downstairs for $500. Of course, the money was going to charity, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. Not so much for not signing an autograph, but the way he went about declining it. There was absolutely no one around, except for me and him. It was one of those moments where you turn around and there standing in front of you is Darrell Green. I thought about it later and knew that if he would have treated me with a little respect, autograph or not, I would have gladly gone downstairs and contributed $500. It was the Ronald McDonald house, which is a great charity. Maybe Darrell needs to learn that treating people with respect (remember, it goes both ways) can go a long way in furthering his contributions to the community. I'm a huge Darrell Green fan. I still am even after that experience and from what I've heard from other people. It is a little disappointing though. My biggest disappointment was Charley Taylor though. This guy was someone I idolized when I was a kid. I had a real bad experience with him a couple of years ago. I don't even want to share here since it's a bad memory of a childhood hero of mine. But, I can say this: I have met many Redskins players over the years and almost all of them have been the nicest people. Mark Rypien and Monte Coleman come to mind as two of the nicest, most geniune Redskins players I've ever met. You really can't judge someone after meeting and talking to them for just a few minutes, but most of us can get a feel about someone right off the bat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riggins44 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I've never met the man, but have hard time believing he is a prick. It's possible that being a very public person that when the cameras are off he just wants to be left alone. This may explain his lack of self exploitation. I've met Theisman, Jacoby, Charlie Taylor, Mark May, George Starke to name a few and they all were very engaging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All In Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Back during the 90s, when Darrel Green broke his arm and was in a sling. It was a Monday night game, and Darrel was being interviewed on the sideline during the pre-game. My sister was working for ABC News, here in DC and picked up some press passes. She gave me one, here I am a 12 year old kid. I waited behind the camera on the field for them to finish the interview. I had a pen and redskins hat in my hand for him to sign. When he finished and was about to walk, I asked him for his autograph, he glanced at me and some guy told me he's not signing autograph's. Darrel turned and walked away. I was the only one there, I know it's an isolated incident, but I never forgot that. Nevertheless, He is one of the greatest Redskins of all time. I should add that I did get his autograph a couple of years ago, when he made an appearance at the Redskins Store at Fair Oaks. It was one of those autographed b/w pictures. I would have much rather had my Superbowl towel signed when I was 12 years old then any PR picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WallyG3 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Say it ain't so Darrell! Say it ain't so!:cry: DG has been a hero of mine just about all of my life. I am glad I have never met him and the picture in my mind is still in tact. Ignorance is bliss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagles_Legendz Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 A bit OT but I'm going to share it with you all anyway (you're so lucky). I was at the MLB All-Star game in 96' in Philadelphia. At the time I was around 10 years old. Prior to the game there were huge autograph lines for various players all across the stadium. I had ventured into one of these scattered lines and with the help of an older lady managed to get fairly close to the front. Barry Bonds was slowly making his way in my direction. When he got about to where I was standing, I was a couple of rows back and everyone was asking for his autograph, but he yelled "Let me sign the kids first". Someone picked me up, I gave him a baseball and had an actual conversation with him for a few minutes and he signed the ball and moved along. So, despite all of the foolish things he's said over the years, I'll be a Barry Bonds fan for the rest of my life. Just thought I'd through in that story after reading all of these negative encounters with pro atheletes. I also had the pleasure of meeting Troy Vincent off the field (who was voted the #1 'good-guy' in sports recently) because my father taught him in high school. He's a total class act. I'm sort of suprised to hear all of these negative things about DG. Some people just get sick of all the publicity I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvidFan Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 this has got to be one of the most depressing threads i've ever read. The only time i've come across Darrell was at training camp last year. I was walking through the Dickinson campus, and i notice a guy who looks a helluva lot like darrell green comin my way. As he gets closer, i realize its him. at a loss for words, i just kinda kept on walking by him. Up until this point i've been mad at myself for not getting his autograph then, or saying a few words to him to show my appreciation for everything he's done. after reading this thread, thank god i kept walking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Sick Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 All lies planted by Dallas fans in and around D.C.!! Now, Mark May... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimReaper21 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I got darrels autograph two years ago at training camp. I will say that he was hard to get though. Didn't get him last year though. And for example i tried really hard to get bruce's auto two years ago to no avail, but got his auto last year. You just gotta catch the player at the right time. The big stars don't like signing with a lot of people around because they will be there forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatGuy Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 You can't be 100% top notch to everyone. I'm sure each and everyone of us has a bad moment where we are kinda jerky to someone we met for no reason. Now multiple the people you meet by 500 a day, and instead of a 'hey whats up', they all want you to sign something, or give them something. I'm pretty sure you'd be sick of it too. I never understood the whole autograph thing. A dood signing some piece of paper means slim pickens to me. If you get a chance to meet the guy, why don't ya say 'Hey Darrell (or Mr. Green), thanks for the memories and the great play over the years' I'm pretty sure he'd smile and say thanks. Tough times for you all spending 20 years playing his ass for you and your team isn't good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Y Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I've met Darrell a couple of times, and when he's supposed to be Mr. Nice sign everything he can guy, he is (like in camp)...but when it's just mano y mano, man on the street, he's a complete ass. Which you can kinda understand he's doing his own thing and fans are bugging him. But I can also see why that is said from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaFunky1 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I talked to the lady at Darrel Green's website. I wanted an authentic mini-helmet signed by him. She told me he does not sign autographs except for his charity anymore. That may be "prickish" to some, but I understand in part where he is coming from. I'm sure he could use some more people skills from what I have read. I hope he isn't a jerk, but maybe after 20 yrs he is tired of being bothered? The lady also stated that most of Green's "autographs" on eBay are fake. A friend told me a story about Cal Ripken Jr. My friend was in Orlando with his wife and kids. Cal was sitting there eating dinner with his family. My friends kid goes over and asks for an autograph. Cal politely refuses and says he is with his family. The kid goes back upset. After Cal eats, he finds the kid and signs an autograph for him. With Darrell being one of my favorite skins it does bother me that he is perceived this way... especially if 100% true. Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboDaMan Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Its pretty well-known that Darrell isn't the easiest guy to deal with. Those who can't believe some of the stories are in denial. Just read thru the posts here about DG being unnecessarily curt or rude to youngsters. There's plenty more out there about Darrell if you care to dwell on it. Just the way things are. I can certainly understand that the competition for his time and attention must be overwhelming at times and must get real old. But I really have little sympathy for those who want the fame and fortune that stardom affords, and then are annoyed by the demands stardom places on them. A grown man who asks you to sign a stack of 100 football cards deserves a rude answer, but there's no excuse for acting that way to a kid with a Sharpie pen - except that Darrell can indeed be a prick. Doesn't change the fact he's one of the greatest Redskins of all time, and that he gives back tremendously to his community. So he's not perfect, I can live with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I do know a lot of the teachers in some Ashburn school don't like him. His son wasn't doing that good and the teacher was trying to help him out. They had DG come in one night to talk to the teacher and he was mad the teacher was trying to help and blamed the teacher for his son's problems. He then brought up the race card on the teacher and principle. Personally I have dealt with him a lot times. I used to work at rio grande in Reston where a lot of redskins came in to eat. I wouldn't bring up anything related to skins unless they did, I felt this was there personal time so didn't want to mention it. Being there I have waited and bartended for pretty much the entire team. The only time DG was nice was when his family was present. The other times he treated me and the other servers and bartenders pretty bad. Out of all the skins I have met the only problems I have ever had was with DG and Brian Mitchell's wife. Everyone else has been great. I love him as a player but I just don't care about how much somone gives to charitys, it is nice but that shouldn't be the only way someone is judged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Everybody has a bad day. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Punani2 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Wow, this totally blows my whole idea of him apart! What a total fake and A-Hole! I find it highly hypocritical of him to always talk about the "fans" and then be a dickhead when he gets asked for an autograph. I can understand having a bad day but from what I've read this is more then a bad day. This is how he acts towards people in real life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlitzFiftySix Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I wish there was a way to forward this link to his website. Maybe a little reality check is needed at his home base. But from the sounds of it, he could probably care less what people think of him. Unless the media is present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelms Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Originally posted by Bang Everybody has a bad day. ~Bang He must have a lot of them. Look, I don't think anyone here is trying to make Darrell Green out to be a bad guy. Because he's not. But, he's not perfect either. I don't think the personal experiences that have been shared here have been made up. If it was an isolated incident or two, I would write it off. But I see a pattern of Darrell not treating people right and for that I am very disappointed. Darrell's contributions to the community and to charity are wonderful and inspiring. But that doesn't give him a free pass to treat others with disrespect. I don't care who he is, how long he played in the NFL, how much he gives to charity, how religious he is, etc. I like the story about Cal Ripken at dinner. No person, famous or not, should be disturbed while they are eating dinner with their family. That is just wrong. There are autograph hounds out there that could care less though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridironmike Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Originally posted by DSF Heh, I love the 'Skins through and through... But I've never approached the man himself about autographs. Just wondering if anyone else got the same treatment?.. I was taken off guard by it since he does so much charity anyway. Might have been a bad day, I dunno... But my colleagues were adament about how he treated them. My first time ever to see the Skins was in the '89 HOF Game against the Bills. The day before, I had just left the Hall when a friend told me a bus load of big guys just went in. I hustled back in and the Redskins were in there! I got Dexter, Jacoby, Mann, Charley Taylor, and Green. When I approached Darrell, he told me he was NOT Darrell Green. I kinda laughed and said I knew who all of the players were. He said It's not me. I went to the next player standing there and asked who is that guy over there. They said Darrell Green. I went back and asked for the autograph. He conceded and signed two autographs and took a picture, but made a snide comment. At the time, I was uneasy about the whole thing. Now I look back and think he was kinda being a butt considering it was in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and not before or after a practice. You'd think the HOF would be a fan friendly place. Well, it was with the others I mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarhog Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I find the whole 'athlete as hero' concept ridiculous to begin with. Seriously, what does any athlete do that is heroic? I think its fine to admire solid citizens with great work ethics (Cal Ripken comes to mind). But they get paid huge sums of money to be stars. Not much heroism there guys. So, in my mind, its somewhat pathetic to express hurt feelings when it turns out your 'hero' is less than such, and may in fact be just another @sshole. I'm not going to judge Darrell Green, none of us knows what motivates the guy, rude behavior or not. But I will say I was brought up to believe that NOTHING excuses rudeness under any circumstances. Whether someone we view as a Redskins icon is a saint, or just another arrogant sham, its somewhat irrelevant. I'm not praying my son grows up to be a professional athlete. I'm praying he grows up to be respectful and to treat others with courtesy and to be a good guy in general above all other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Well, after reading all this Ive decided to take back all times I've cheered for Green over the years. I'm taking back all those nice things I thought about him too. So there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kornheiser Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Typical self-absorbed fans. So a guys a prick if he doesn't give you his autograph?? Part of not being a prick is respected other peoples wishes. a-a-hem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Originally posted by Kornheiser Typical self-absorbed fans. So a guys a prick if he doesn't give you his autograph?? Part of not being a prick is respected other peoples wishes. a-a-hem. No a prick is when you are not asking for autographs and just doing your job and the guy still acts like a prick to you. No one has the right to feel they are better then everyone else. If this were to happen once or twice then it is okay but more than 5 times then that is a pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonnyJ Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I've never met the guy, but it squares with what I've heard about him. It seems that he is only pleasant when it behooves him to do so. Going with what Jimbo said, it amazes me that some of these guys can be such jerks to the people who have made them what they are today. They take the good stuff and scrape the nuisance parts off their shoes like dog crap. He'll learn soon enough that his ex-player status will only take him so far. Regardless of his status in the pantheon of Washington sports, he'll lose a lot of goodwill if he doesn't start being more accommodating. His foundation will need all the goodwill it can get in a few years, when the shine of his Redskin career starts to wear off. Everyone wants to believe that Green is a great guy because of the 20 years of playing and the charitable works. There is no reason to believe that people's experience with him were isolated incidents. It all points to a pattern of rudeness and a lack of appreciation for the reverence in which fans hold him. Sounds like another self-absorbed athlete to me. If, instead of Darrell Green, this thread were about Michael Westbrook, people would believe this in an instant. But, because it is Darrell Green, people slough it off or make excuses for him. But there is no excuse for poor behavior. It's part of the bargain of being a celebrated and admired figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kornheiser Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 :cry: Players are not indentured servants to the public. Giving a signature does not make someone not a prick, anymore than not giving a signature does not make them a prick. It's the mark of pouty children - I didn't get my candy, so your a meanie, wa-wa. Trying to read classism into it, amounts to the same thing dressed up in adult terms. And it is every bit as simple as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSF Posted August 4, 2003 Author Share Posted August 4, 2003 Originally posted by Kornheiser Typical self-absorbed fans. So a guys a prick if he doesn't give you his autograph?? Part of not being a prick is respected other peoples wishes. a-a-hem. Not at all, hes well within his rights to say no and still be the icon everyone has him pegged to be (Me included). I just think there is a way to be polite about it and not be a total prick when a kid or devoted fan, whatever the case may be, ask you for something. I dont care that he said no to the people I know, I do care when I come back to work and everyone is talking about how big of an a$$ he acted towards them at someone elses charity event. I just dont understand the rationale of why go to the charity event if your not in the mood to be engaging to the people at the event. But, I dont know all the facts behind it as i've already said. I dont think its a case of being self absorbed fans when I read all these stories about him being a prick to them on several occcasions. A little respect can go a long ways on both ends, but in the case i'm describing it was a charity event that he coulda easily said no to. Shrug. --Mental Break--- I remember meeting Dexter Manley when I was like 13 at Chuck E Cheese. He was there with his family as his son was celebrating a birthday and a horde of kids rushed him right when he got his pizza for autographs (Myself included at the urging of my mom which really pissed me off because I wanted to wait, but thats another story in itself =) ). He was as polite as could be in a situation that clearly could have called for rudeness and been forgiven. Then after dinner, he sat down at his own table away from his family and signed autographs for a good hour while his kids played. Only autograph I ever got in my life and I'm grateful for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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