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September 05, 2008
Smith apologizes, says he understands anger
In Smith's blog written Friday on the Athletes United for Youth website, Smith says: "To be honest, I’m not really expecting people to give me a free pass. There’s no explanation I can give to justify what I did and I’m not going to try to waste their time trying to. It’s just unfortunate."
Smith also said a team meeting shortly after the incident helped clear the air.
"I got an opportunity in a private team meeting to hear my teammates really open up and show me what’s in their hearts," Smith wrote. "They got a chance to see me open up and show them what’s in my heart. I respect them for that. We got past it.
"My job is not to bring anybody back in the public to being on my side, but I can stand up and say, ‘I’ve made a mistake.’ I’ll be the first one to own up to it. I’ve never been a guy to shy away from things – when I’ve done good or bad. I took full accountability for what happened and if people think that’s me trying to push it under the rug, you need to look at what accountability is."
Smith, who apologized to Lucas and received his forgiveness, was suspended for the Panthers' first two regular-season games. He's missing Sunday's regular-season opener at San Diego and next week's game against the Chicago Bears at Bank of America Stadium.
Smith also says he banged up his shoulder on the first play from scrimmage in the Panthers' preseason game against the Washington Redskins on Aug. 23. It aggravated a shoulder injury he says he got against the Dallas Cowboys last year. Although he says it's feeling better, Smith also said he'll see a doctor when the season is over to "get a fair assessment on the best procedure to minimize that pain that I have on a day-to-day basis. It really doesn’t concern me too much. I’ll play this season."
Smith also said the concussion he suffered on Aug. 9 against Indianapolis gave him serious headaches and some memory loss. He said he couldn't remember the scenes from a familiar movie -- "Training Day" -- that he watched the next day. He also said he went to the hospital after the game for a cat-scan to make sure there was no bleeding on the brain.
Smith, along with former basketball players Dell Curry and Jay Bilas, is a partner in Athletes United For Youth, a non-profit organization that serves under-privileged children.
-- David Scott
Posted by Observer Sports on September 5, 2008 at 04:12 PM | Permalink
Comments
I can respect him for saying all he did. I know some won't forgive him until he get's his 15th td but I for one, can respect a man who owns up to his shortcomings.
And trust, even though I'm a huge Panther fan, he's never been my favorite player.
I just hope he can get his anger issues taken care of and continue his career w/out further negative incident.
Posted by: rawjem | Sep 5, 2008 4:22:04 PM
the guy is vital to the team's success, period. when he is on he field this year, he will make plays and i hope to see him have some fun too. him and jake need to go forth with the mindset this season that mistakes will happen, just to trust that they can make this team a winner if they have good seasons, not perfect ones.
Posted by: brendan | Sep 5, 2008 4:34:04 PM
Smitty is the man. Unfortunate incidents happen in competition. He has forgiven and all is in the past. Time to move forward and win some games.
GO PANTHERS!!!
Posted by: True Fan | Sep 5, 2008 4:39:02 PM
man forget the fight stuff. lets talk about the last two things man
shoulder and memory loss
OH HELL NAW
Posted by: jake the snake | Sep 5, 2008 4:50:15 PM
Smitty is a good guy. He has these kinds of things happen here and there, but overall he's a great competitor. I blame 100+ degrees summer weather.
He's obviously very sorry for what he has done, and he's owning up to it by missing the first two games of the season probably without pay. I agree with True Fan. Let's just forget about it and move on with this season.
Posted by: Revshawn | Sep 5, 2008 5:49:27 PM
You have to give Smitty some credit. He has taken his punishment like a man. He is well aware what the consequences of his actions are. Short changing his teammates the first two weeks of the season. No matter what we think of Smitty, he has always been a team first kind of guy. And, I too, am hopeful he can get his anger issues worked out. I would hate to see all the good work he has done go by the wayside.
That said, I have never heard of him doing anything close to this outside of football. So I guess we should blame... on second thought let's not throw blame around either. Wish you well Steve.
GO CATS! and JAKE!
Posted by: iamhubby | Sep 5, 2008 6:04:52 PM
AMEN! The fight is old news and Smitty is loved and forgiven (at least by me). What is this about possible shoulder issues and memory loss????? I don't like the sound of that AT ALL.
Posted by: kelli | Sep 5, 2008 6:06:14 PM
I still say one of the most poignant things Smith could do once he comes off suspension is to keep the ball from his first TD this season, perform no celebration in the endzone, walk it over to the defensive side of the bench, and then hand it to Ken Lucas as one last apology.
If people saw that...and his teammates saw that...and it was truly heartfelt, I guarantee you it would go a long, long way in turning up team chemistry one more notch.
Just my two-cents,
--Neil
Posted by: NSpicer | Sep 5, 2008 6:07:53 PM
That's awsome Neil- great idea......Am I the only one a bit concerned about the shoulder and head issues.....the way he plays all out is going to scare me everytime he goes up for a jump ball or across the middle...
Posted by: jb | Sep 5, 2008 7:27:45 PM
Yeah, I second that... I'm sort of glossing over the forgiveness stuff (because it's been covered) and focusing on that *REALLY* scary part about the head injury.
There are times I forget scenes of my favorite movie, Friday, but that's for entirely different reasons.
Posted by: atstinger | Sep 5, 2008 7:43:51 PM
Did he say he had memory loss after the concussion and his shoulder still hurts. That is the most important thing in the article. WTF! I hope he is OK physically and mentally.
Posted by: bb | Sep 5, 2008 7:48:58 PM
Steve Smith is still getting slammed in the national sports media. "The Punch Heard 'Round the League" is old news but many are already projecting an 0-2 start for the Panthers and laying it at his feet, claiming bad team chemistry is his fault alone (Is there a problem with team chemistry that I don't know about?). If they do lose those games and miss the playoffs by 1 or 2 games, he will be blamed for years to come.
He clearly feels great remorse for his regrettable action and is owning up to it like an adult. His suspension is leaving the team in a terrible position quite different from 2006. That season he was out for 2 games because of an injury and we all lamented his absence, but it could not be avoided. This could have been, but none of us knows what lead to The Punch, so we don't know what it would have taken to avoid it.
Smith has been a good citizen of Charlotte for many years and he has given of himself to help area children. I hope his efforts are not overlooked because of The Punch. He deserves credit for his good deeds. He has accepted blame for the bad and he deserves to have it fade into the past when his suspension is over. I hope he comes back from this like he came back from his broken leg, leading the league in catches, yards and TD receptions.
Go Smitty, Go Jake and Go Panthers.
Posted by: FrankieB2 | Sep 5, 2008 10:13:52 PM
Jake has thrown so many high balls to him causing him to jump 10 feet into the air and come down hard so often, I am surprised he hasn't had shoulder problems for years.
Jake's weak pass caused Moose to get a concussion this preseason.
Without Steve's vertical jumping ability Jake would not be the starter.
Now by leaving Moore in the useless game he has a broke leg and we lost the best QB we had last season.
Posted by: jason | Sep 5, 2008 10:58:05 PM
Jason, Delhomme gunned it into the end zone and the reason Moose was hurt is because of a head to head shot by Brian Dawkins. Are you really going to blame Delhomme for the hit? His job is to put the ball in the endzone, Muhammad's was to hold onto the ball, and Brian Dawkins' job was to lay out whoever caught the ball. I think the hit was nasty and underhanded, especially for a preseason game, but I would never blame Delhomme for it.
It's Smitty’s aggressive play that lends to him being beat up. It's also a part of football. You can't find a single player in the NFL that doesn't play with some sort of pain some time in their career. I hope Smitty is okay, but once again blaming the QB for his receiver’s injuries seems a little outrageous to me.
By the way, Moore looked like crap this preseason and they left him in because he needed the reps. If all goes well he won't even be needed and ta da, we have a better backup now anyway so problem solved.
Posted by: James | Sep 5, 2008 11:29:54 PM
No, Jason...Brian Dawkins' ILLEGAL hit (which he was fined for) gave Muhammad a rib bruise, not a concussion. Thanks for your totally wrong analysis, though.
Oh, and yes, Matt Moore was WAY better than Jake's eight-TD performance through three games with his three through five.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Sep 6, 2008 12:00:26 AM
Jason - don't completely agree with you on that post, still think Delhomme is a great quarterback.....you are crazy to think Moore is the best QB on the roster. This is Delhomme's team, and always will be as long as he is healthy....he commands leadership and is the chief of this team. He trusts and has chemistry with Smith and Moose, I hope Hackett can get in and produce with limited action, and Jarrett can lay of the bottle and get into the playbook - he's too talented to be a slack ass.
Fox in my opinion is one of the smartest coaches in the league....the key will be the running game and the play action fake regardless...if the combo of Stewart and Williams can be as effective as I believe they will be, the Panthers (and Jake) will be more than fine. Of course Smitty out the first two games is going to hurt...(I wonder what the spread would be if Smith was playing Sun) - but regardless I am a huge fan, have been since the inception and as a normal true fan, has high expectations for the team regardless of who you root for.
Too many negative posters on this board, and if you want to be honest - I and as many of the Panthers players and fans believe this could be a very special year. O-line health is key and coheisiveness throughout the year is huge. Peppers is going to have a big year, I honestly don't know how LJ Shelton is going to be able to block him, and they'll probably chip or double him with an extra running back or TE on him about every play. Still think Peppers can beat anybody in the league one on one - and yes, he had a bad year last year...but he's probably one of if not the most athletic player in the league.
Being positive and sorry for the long post,
JB
Posted by: jb | Sep 6, 2008 12:10:08 AM
Nice move, David Scott! Way to rehash this junk right before the season opener! At least you will never get accused of letting your loyalty and bias for the team get in the way of your fair reporting & journalism.
Now that I got that out of the way, let me address the old issue once and for all. I’ve been told that I don’t know what is in Smith’s heart. True: but I do know what comes out of his mouth (as reported). I also have been accused of grabbing things out of thin air when I stated that his public apology was not forthcoming toward the public. Allow me to thereby finally put to rest where in Smith’s speech I got that impression.
I do have to say that Smith did say some good things in his initial public apology (with limited press coverage) on August 4th. But, as I said before, he seemed to forget just what an impact his actions have on the public when reciting his apology…
Smith: “First of all, I'd really like to apologize to the organization, to the coaches, to my teammates, to my family.”
What about the fans? Like it or not, you have a responsibility toward them as well Smit-dog. BTW, I’m glad to see he finally publicly acknowledges that on this recent blog thing. Finally!
Smith: “I will take this opportunity moving forward to try to do the best I can to move forward past it and let this not define me and not get down on myself to the point that I'm not able to help my teammates out and help this organization win a championship.” Can I get a whoop, whoop!? LOL! Yeah, OK. To Steve Smith: Let’s have a shout out to your die hard fan club (that I was a member of until the incident and general attitude thereafter) in hopes that they will overlook things. That’s classic, but ridiculous.
Smith: “I will not put myself in position where I have to defend myself or state my side of the story.” Umm, OK?? Then why are you apologizing again??? He might as well be saying that he will not be held accountable for his actions; which makes this apology much like the dairy cow that tips over its own milk. In other words: then what good is it!?
Smith: “I'm going to take this opportunity to let God break me, humble me, and continually let me move forward in being the person I can truly be (way to state the obvious, Mr. Smith) -- and that's a God-fearing man, no matter what people may think or what they may say.” Another classic move: as the heathens say, hiding behind God. Making this statement obviously puts anyone that challenges his actions (or this “apology”) in jeopardy of being called a “hypocrite.” Well guess what, Smitty; I’m not impressed.
I know even though I took direct quotes from his speech and pointed out the obvious, there are still some of you that are going to come on here and attack me or my argument. To you let me just say 1) that will not change the reality of the matter and, 2)… “I'm going to take this opportunity to let God break me, humble me, and continually let me move forward in being the person I can truly be -- and that's a God-fearing man, no matter what people may think or what they may say.”
For the record, I can’t wait to put this crap behind us. As a matter of fact, I don’t care if I never hear the name Steve Smith again. That being said, it’s nice to see him do damage control. I can only hope those youth that may have been swayed in a negative way by these recent events will actually come to realize just how bad the consequences really were (and those of you ***** that come on here to defend him do not help that cause). Peace out!
Posted by: SYRPIS | Sep 6, 2008 6:48:00 AM
BTW, I did read his latest apology in this blog. And for what it's worth...,
Smit... apology accepted. What can I say, I'm won over again. I guess all I needed was a sincere apology. Morever, I never questioned your reasoning behind your community involvement, since you were doing that stuff long before this latest incident.
One thing though, Smit-dog....
can you please stop putting in these stipulations and sidenotes into your public apologies. They pretty much minimize what you already might have said---much like what just happened here with my blog. Thanks.
Posted by: SYRPIS | Sep 6, 2008 7:00:56 AM
Syrp,
I hate to do this, but I feel compelled to respond. This is at least the second time (in about as many days, I think) that you've done a complete "180" and reversed whatever rant you initially posted. So, a word of advice...and don't take this as an attack on your position or anything, it's only meant as friendly advice...seriously...
But, before you allow emotion to build up to the point that you feel compelled to express it by posting right away...stop. Ask yourself if it's really necessary. Ask yourself about the possible consequences of what your quick post will generate. Ask yourself if you've really looked at all of the variables that might be out there concerning that issue (like the sincerity of Steve Smith's apology). And lastly, ask yourself if it would be better to post about it after you've calmed down from your initial reaction a bit first.
If you were to go through that kind of progression, rather than firing from the hip sometimes, I think it would serve you better. I actually disagree with the majority of your initial post about Steve Smith's apology. But you did have some valid points in there. They just got clouded up with a lot of the negative emotion you projected...and emphasis you placed on some aspects of Smith's response that I disagree with...
Your second post came across much better. And I actually agree with you about Smith's sidenotes, stipulations, and occasional caveats that get woven into his words. He can often undo what he's trying to say. However, I recognize two things in that situation. First, Steve Smith is not the greatest person when it comes to speaking in public...or through the media. He can be funny sometimes in interviews when things are going well, but when it concerns an emotional, serious issue during trying situations, he often can't line words up in a way that comes across like he probably wants them to. That same emotion that fuels him on the field can get in the way of what he's trying to convey if he feels really strongly about whatever he's saying or experiencing.
Secondly, Steve Smith talks without a prepared speech or written statement unlike a lot of other players who wind up having to issue apologies for things they've done. That means he's more likely to lose his way while talking because he's such an emotional guy and because he's not following a script. I actually like that about him. It makes his words not come out perfect. But it makes him more genuine. It also reminds me that no one's perfect. And it demonstrates to me Steve is trying. He's really trying. And, in life, that's usually what matters the most.
Lastly, about the religious thing. I know a lot of players who get in trouble (see Michael Vick) try to wrap themselves up in religion to explain away their actions or shield themselves from the consequences of them. I don't think Steve is exactly the same. He's fast friends with John Kasay...and John is one of most compelling, believable men of faith on that entire team and in the Charlotte community. He was one of the first people Smith was talking with after the incident. Smith has also cited Kasay a number of times as a person he respects and consults in matters of faith.
Now, I wouldn't view Steve Smith as the foremost Christian in the world. But what I do know, is that I'll take his references to finding strength in God and letting this incident humble him much more seriously than someone like Michael Vick who totally tries to hide and run away from his actions for as long as possible. The difference here is that Smith is owning up to what he did. He's dealt with it as an internal issue with his teammates. He's responding when and where he can without dragging it on and on as a public spectacle that will continue to do damage to the team. And he's...trying!
That's what matters.
Sincerely,
--Neil
Posted by: NSpicer | Sep 6, 2008 8:36:08 AM
Syrp, I'm going to ignore the fact that this might just be the 100th post on this entire situation because for once it wasn't you bringing it up. But it sounds to me like the thing your most irrate with is the fact that you didn't get a personal apoligy from Smith. I know you used the word "fans" but from what you wrote I think you feel like he owed you a direct apoligy for his actions. I can understand how you would feel this way but I don't think it constitutes as much emotion as you have put forth. Like Neil said you get all fired up over a situation and start posting madly trying to type your feelings before you have had time to calm down and analyze them. Hopefully we won't have to hear about this for a long time because this drum has been beaten far too many times.
Posted by: JV | Sep 6, 2008 9:02:39 AM
Funny thing.....a few month back The Observer featured an article about Smith desiring to get 2.000 yards this season and somday hopefully make tha Hall of Fame. Not one time in THAT article did Smith mention being banged up from last season.
Steve Smith WILL NOT finish his career as a Carolina Panther. As much as jerry Richardson wants to win I am sure he is keeping Steve on a short leash.
The guy is a tremendous football player. His off the field issues are serious. Neither of these incidents was your typical football incident. They were voilent assaults off the field.
I still do not think HE gets it. He is quoted above as saying "I made a mistake." This was not an isolated incident. We coddle our sports figures and do not hold them to our same standards. That is society's problem.
Apologies can sound so shallow. Only Steve knows what is in his head, I do not question his heart.
Posted by: mike nelson | Sep 6, 2008 10:12:15 AM
Steve tries. He's an emotional guy, and he is a prideful guy, which is dangerous. But I believe he does care, and he does try to be the best he can be. And he knows when he's wrong. And that's good enough for me, because I know what it's like to struggle with shortcomings that don't go away overnight and for good.....
I hope he's healthy enough to play at a high level, because that guy gets knocked around pretty hard every year. I'm surprised he's not a total physical wreck, really.
Posted by: BigMikey | Sep 6, 2008 11:59:00 AM
you all are dribbling on, and on, and on, and are sounding more like me than a real football fan. get over it. let the media keep bringing it up cause they have nothing else to bring up... but let's not play into their hype. It's over, penalty is being served, and we move on. Love to all... Dr. Phil.
Posted by: Dr. Phil | Sep 6, 2008 1:44:15 PM
Moore looked very good last season in Jake's absense. Moore did not fumble and throw interceptions like we have become accustomed to.
Moore did look bad in the preseason game at pittsburgh, however you have to remember he was playing with receivers and lineman who did not make the team.
Put Moore out there with the first team week end and week out and we will be in the playoffs.
Jake holds the ball too long, he fumbles the ball each time he is touched and he doesn't want to throw to anyone but Smith due to the fact of his jumping ability. I think the suspension will force him to look to other options which could be a positive thing.
Jake salary 7,500,000.00
Moore salary 285,000
Brezane salary 325,000
How much did each of Jakes td passes cost last year.
By the way I have always defended Jake but I am taking off the rose colored glasses until I see some serious changes in his play.
Posted by: jason | Sep 6, 2008 2:37:05 PM
I would have though after the season we had last year without jake that all the haters would shut up. Jake is the only way we make the playoffs, do you people remember how bad our offense was last year??
Posted by: Billy | Sep 6, 2008 3:11:24 PM
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