I respect Laveranues Coles. I respect that he has overcome adversary in his life; I respect his charity work; and I respect his fearless play on the football field. But, in past months I feel the Jets wide receiver has contradicted himself in a very unflattering way. You see, when the Jets traded for current quarterback and savior, Brett Farve and released then 1.5 string quarterback Chad Pennington (as he was competing for the job with Kellen “Big Man” Clemens), Coles decided to boycott talking to the media [1]. Coles and Pennington are very good friends, and Coles was visibly upset that the organization released Pennington. Understandable situation, right? Coles did not want to discuss this situation to the media because he would bad mouth the Jets organization . And we all the know the New York media would run away with the story of Coles lambasting the Jets.
HOWEVER, the problem I have with Coles is that he had no problem parting ways with his friend Chad Pennington in 2002 when he signed a contract with the Washington Redskins before being traded back to the Jets in 2005. Coles later admitted that he signed with Washington becasue they offered him more money [2]. Coles also had no problem being seperated from Chad Pennington this offseason when he threatened to retire because he wanted a new contract. He wanted the Jets to RIP UP HIS CURRENT CONTRACT, AFTER THE JETS GAVE HIM AN EXTENSION IN 2005 ON THE ORIGINAL REDSKINS CONTRACT HE HAD SIGNED IN 2002 WHEN HE LEFT THE JETS! [3] The nerve, eh
We all love loyalty. And there was no bigger Chad Pennington fan than me; I still think he is the smartest quaterback in footback. However, Laveranues Coles has no right to be upset at the Jets for releasing Chad. It was the best for the team. The last two seasons were tough for Chad Pennington and it was time for him to go elsewhere and flourish. Unfortunately, his time with the Jets was up. I wish him the best of luck with Dolphins (until he plays the Jets again) and hope he has a pro-bowl season. Bringing in Brett Farve for a low-level draft pick (for now) was the right move to help this team win. I know that Coles wants to win.
This was a business decision by the Jets, and no one should understand that more than Coles. He made two business decisions himself (signing with the Redskins and threatening to retire for more money) to seperate himself from his friend, Chad Pennington and should be able to see the Jets’ point of view. Luckily enough, Coles ended his media boycott in week one of the season. He explained that his silence was out of respect for Chad [4]. We all know Coles will always respect Chad, unless maybe money is involved.
References:
[1]: http://www.nypost.com/seven/08202008/sports/jets/favre__coles_talk_the_talk_125190.htm
[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laveranues_Coles
[3]: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?id=109&sport=nfl
[4]: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/2008/09/07/2008-09-07_laveranues_coles_stayed_quiet_to_respect-1.html
