No justice, no peace, no Steve Smith

   I showed up at the pro-Steve Smith protest in front of the team store at Bank of America Stadium Thursday. The protest was scheduled for noon; I arrived at 11:55 a.m. At 11:55 there were more medias than protesters. It was close, though, probably seven to five.

    Soon, protesters outnumbered us. I don't know how many protesters there were. I would guess 20. But it was a workday. It was 45 degrees. And even though it was lunchtime, there were no food trucks.

     And I promise you this -- nobody in Chicago protested because the Bears cut Julius Peppers. And that's not because the temperature there was 27 degrees.

     Peppers was an employee, a Carolina Panther before he was a Bear. Smith is more. When many fans look at the franchise, it's Smith's face they see.

      Protesters wore 89 jerseys and held up pro-Smith signs as cars and trucks drove past on Mint Street. A dump truck honked and protesters cheered.

       True, nobody chanted, "No justice, no peace." But in response to a TV reporter people did chant, "Ice up, son."

       I've been around the Panthers since their inception. And I'm not aware of fans ever showing up to support a player they feel was wronged by the organization.

        Cool that they cared enough to do it.

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

Comments

[PanthersD]

Funny how people here are freaking out and declaring doom and gloom because a bunch of players are leaving (mostly by free agency). Wake up, it's 2014, not 1995. If you look around, a whole bunch of teams are losing players- some, like the Saints, Patriots, and Packers-a lot. Guess what, it's about who reloads best. That's the nature of the NFL now. Get used to it.

[Keith]

Some people see things as a matter of loyalty, of shared spirit, of fun for living and life. Despite what the jaded "realists" believer we don't always have to make the "business" decision. The real fans wanted Smitty to be here. He grew up here. He raised his family and committed to the community. It would take a crass asshole not to see this and not to want the Panthers to keep a player with this kind of heart and commitment to be here.

[Robert Capers]

Gettleman has some real problems on his hands that are self inflicted. I am not sure how he sleeps at night with the uproar he has caused. Not only losing Steve Smith but all the other Panthers that have been signed by other team. Soon the core will be made up of a few. What gets me most is smoke screen and lies being told. We understand that you are from the north dave and you think that you are more intelligent . But to continue to lie and try to cover up. We are smarter than that. Steve Smith Jersey was pulled from the team store on Monday because "the organization" statement was to add Sr. to the jersey. Just another of your many lies. Its your bed dave now go sleep in it.

[Sixtimes]

RRRRIINNGGG............... Hello. Armanti Edwards please.

[Ronnie]

Im on Gettlemans side 100%....fans, move on!

[Stp]

Lets not forget Carolina's offense ranked near the bottom. They need to fix it. Who would have wanted most of the crew from SeaHawks? Carolina need big targets, to force other teams to play them different. The division covers Smith perfect, time to move on and stop with the same results, 10 points at SanFran and 10 points at home, no improvement. Lets enjoy we r moving up not down. Gettelman has Super Bowls!......He knows what's up!

[panther]

Sad day in Carolina. Smitty was the heartbeat of the Carolina Panthers. This team just had a massive heart attack. Time to go to funeral home folks. @ DG Ice up Son! Ice Up!

[Scott Mitchell]

What I hate is we haven't had 2 quality receivers for the last several years. Instead the emphasis has been on the running game. As Smith gets older he loses that breakaway speed
that made him so special. So other teams would double team him and of course his numbers went down.
Instead of releasing Smith They should brought in a quality wide receiver which would free Smith and his numbers would probably go up.
I personally would have let Hardy go and saved $13 million. Got a number one receiver and concentrated on our offensive line. Hardy had 15 sacks last year. 10 in 3 games, 5 in 5 games, and 8 games with no sacks.
Now we have a front 7 on defense and need
safety and CB help. Offense we need a new line and pray we find WR help.
Next year we have to pay serious money if we keep Cam.
Now the face of the franchise is Luke Kuechly. If anybody serves to be paid it is him. Never let him go.

[Ace Davis]

Yall all forget Gettlemans first bonehead move was helping his old team out with a top 5 middlelinebacker for a measly 7th round pick, hes only gone downhill from there. Smitty is the reason we were 12-4, not Getlostman. Love you Smitty, I'm switching teams like you, waiting to see if you go somewhere I can tolerate, if not, I'll be Raidercat, because I expect them to make bonehead moves. Thanks for the fun Jerry, but not tolerating this garbage, and you going back on your word. ~ Formerly "Captain Panther"

[Munson15]

I love Smith, but the NFL is about cap space and building for the future. I tend to think that Gettleman knows a tad more about how to navigate the NFL cap storm than all of us put together. 750 yards and 4 TDs doesn't equal $7 million. It sucks to say goodbye to the face of the franchise, but this is professional sports. Hurney got us into this cap mess, Gettleman will get us out.

[True Panther Fan]

I bet if Hurney was still in power, Smitty would be here. He would probably have a shiny new contract too. Then we could trade our first round pick for a newbie that no one else wanted. So, maybe this is what it takes to build a winner. No emotion, making tough decisions? If I were to have bet money, at the start of last season, I would have lost. People - LET GETTLEMAN DO HIS JOB. Complain when we lose, not on a plan you don't have insight in to!!!!

[Fred]

No more Panthers for me. They just sent one of their best players packing after he has been so loyal, giving his all to the team and still has more to give and with a better attitude than most. No more Panthers for me.

[Jules]

Doesn't make business sense to let him walk. Still gotta pay him 5 million. Seems to be a power move by Gettleman, who apparently has the full backing of Richardson. Steve probably though he was untouchable , at least for this season. Well I guess he found out he wasn't.

[Steve Smith's Knee]

Maybe the Panthers know more about his knee than is being said. There are two sides to every story as well.

Also, isn't it peculiar that the QB has yet to say anything about him being gone?

[Wild High]

The facts are ... the Panthers passing game stinks, and bringing back an 'aging' receiver who ranked second on the team in receptions and no longer demanded double-coverage was simply not going to improve their efficiency.

Best of luck, #89

[Ben]

While the cap savings this year isn't much, what's the cap savings for 2015? It appears that Gettleman is preparing to sign Luke and Cam to long term deals. It's not Gettleman's fault that Hurney was a fool with money. Tough decisions have to be made. I expect 8-8 at best next season, but look forward to the years after that.