Commander Adama Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/colum...21162&num=0 "Regular visitors to this site know that, over the past year, we have documented the plight of Khiawatha Downey, the offensive lineman stricken with multiple sclerosis, who teams shied away from in the 2004 draft. Well, Downey suffered another setback this week, one that could end his dream of playing in the league. Several weeks ago, Downey signed on with the St. Louis Rams as a free agent. He had been in camp with San Francisco last year, also as a free agent, sustained a knee injury, and eventually reached a settlement on his contract. Because they wanted Downey to participate in their offseason program this spring, the Rams did not allocate him to NFL Europe, feeling instead that he would benefit more under the watchful eyes of their staff. Earlier this week, Downey packed his car and headed for St. Louis, where the offseason program commenced. But he experienced mechanical difficulties along the way, phoned a Rams staffer, and explained his arrival would be a bit delayed. But when he went out of contact for about 12 hours, and missed a morning weight session, St. Louis waived Downey. This is the same team, it should be noted, that continues to employ offensive tackle Kyle Turley, a guy who allegedly threatened to kill coach Mike Martz last year. Now Downey has no job and it's too late to try to catch on with an NFL Europe team. It's likely that Downey, who was fighting long odds to begin with, will file a grievance against the Rams. It's likely, too, that his football career is ended. " Man, I have to comment on this. I think Mike Martz and the St. Louis Rams organization are some of the biggest A-Holes on this planet. It says after he "went out of contact for 12 hours, and missed a morning weight session", that means those 12 hours were overnight. Who is the guy supposed to contact? Do all players keep in contact the night before? I really hope Downey sues them. Do they have any idea of the cost of medication for Multiple Sclerosis is....about $15,000+ per year for the rest of his life. Without the medication, he could deteriorate rapidly and cause permanent damage to the nerves in his brain. If they were going to waive him, they should have done so earlier, so Downey could have went to NFL Europe, but no, they kept him here seeing the guy has a lot of potential. Was it a character issue? Sitting next to Turley, this guy looked like a Saint. So, what was it? Basically it boiled down to they changed their mind and didn't want to take a chance on a guy who has Multiple Sclerosis. Some people would say that's fine. It's a teams perogative....ok, but did they have to ruin the guys chance of getting employed somewhere else? No! So, here's to you Mike Martz and the Rams FO on winning the A-Hole of the week award. Sorry to some who feels this post shouldn't be here. I just had to get it off my chest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNEET Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 I'm sure there's another side to this story that you are not telling, or that isn't being told Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanishomelette Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 He probably should have called a little more frequently with updates. Teams are not big on trust when they don't know you. If you're a bubble player, you have to make sure you are there when required in order to build that trust... Unfortunate for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwebst1 Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 It does seem a little harsh, but "out of contact" is no excuse. He could have left a voicemail, gotten to a pay phone if his cell lost power, etc... That would be like anyone of us getting a new job, then not showing on your first scheduled day later saying, "sorry, I was out of contact for 12 hours, will be in tomorrow" Doesn't fly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
da#1skinsfan Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Exactly. Why should it be any different for them. Car trouble, health trouble whatever....if he misses work, he misses work. Then if he AWOL for x amount of time...tough ****. Id hate to see that greivance net that bum one dime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cskin Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Situation certainly sounds muddled, with more probably not being told. Regardless, the kid is said to have some talent. I doubt seriously that his career has ended. Heck... if the kid can play tackle.... and has the talent..... than he shouldn't have a problem finding a team desperately needing a reserve. If Bugel saw anything in him...he'd be on the phone calling him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 i agree...he should have been in contact within those 12hrs and 12hrs is a long time. i don't think all those ours were overnight since he missed the lifting session,unless the rams lift at 3am. :shrug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpfan Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Turley threatened to kill Mike Martz? That's news to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallsux Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Big shock. Mike Martz is the same coach that admittedly sent Kurt Warner back onto the field after he suffered yet another concussion. He even admitted to "seeing it in his eyes" that something was not right, but ignored it. Mike Martz is one of the worst coaches of our day, because he doesn't care about players, or their well being. He only cares about his career & how these players will drag him down. At least, that's the way I see it. No coach who is actually thinking abou the welfare of his players would do the things that Martz does. So, I agree. :ramsuck: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallsux Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Originally posted by Leonard Washington i agree...he should have been in contact within those 12hrs and 12hrs is a long time. i don't think all those ours were overnight since he missed the lifting session,unless the rams lift at 3am. :shrug: My wife's cousin has MS & they just watched her Aunt die this week from complications from MS. The meds for this dispicable disease can render you unconscious for 12 hours or more sometimes. I'm not saying that's the case, but that can happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 in fairness Lenny "has been known" to shade a story or two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimster Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Originally posted by bubba9497 in fairness Lenny "has been known" to shade a story or two exactly. - We of all people should know about stories being reported with a negative spin. Was it really 12 hours? Why did he wait until the last minute to get there? Besides, why do we assume it was Martz himself - they do have a GM ( ...and he's on the bubble himself) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 There's much we don't know about this incident and about the motivation of the Rams. But the guy called and said he was going to be late, isn't that enough? "Out of contact for 12 hours" can mean he breaks down in some podunk town, calls the Rams at 8pm says he's going to be late, then they don't hear from him until morning. Why is that a cuttable offense? Again, there must be more to this than what we're hearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay87 Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Kyle Turley will be cut on June 1st and yes he did threaten to kill Martz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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