Uncle Luke,the man whose booty-shaking madness made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke criticizes Joe Philbin for letting go of Chad Johnson.
The Miami Dolphins are the most hypocritical football organization to ever be featured on national television. Cutting Chad Johnson, one of the top wide receivers in the NFL, was completely unfair. Before his wife Evelyn Losada accused him of headbutting her, Johnson was one of the few players in the league to never get arrested -- in his entire pro career.
Yes, he's a clown who loves to mug for the cameras, but every NFL team has a jokester. How the heck can head coach Joe Philbin tell Johnson he doesn't fit into the Dolphins program when he condones veterans hazing rookies by shaving their hair to look like penises?
Besides, the Dolphins have a history of keeping players who get in trouble off the football field. In 2010, the team didn't cut; then-defensive linemen Tony McDaniel and Phillip Merling, both of whom had been arrested for domestic battery against their significant others during training camp. Around the same time, running back Ronnie Brown and corner back Will Allen were popped for driving with a DUI.
These incidents all occurred the same year the Dolphins traded for Brandon Marshall, a talented wide receiver who already had four arrests under his belt when he came to Miami; including one for domestic violence. In April 2011, Marshall was involved in another domestic dispute in which his wife stabbed him. He stayed on the Dolphins roster.
The truth is that anyone watching the first two episodes of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Miami Dolphins could tell Philbin didn't like Johnson and wanted any reason to let him go. The Dolphins head coach thinks he is still in Wisconsin, where he can act like he's Andy Griffith. But gosh darn it, this is Miami, the flashiest city in America. We love superstars with big personalities. Just look at the Miami Heat.
Philbin should have shown Johnson a little more loyalty, at least for the fan's and players sake. From the time they are playing in the National Youth Football League, players are taught that they play a team sport and that you ride or die with your brothers. But the Dolphins sent a message that we are not our brother's keeper. When it came time for Philbin to support Johnson and show Chad the Dolphins were behind him, the head coach turned on him.
Even some players are openly questioning Philbin's decision. On Sid Rosenberg's show last week, linebacker Karlos Dansby said he hated that the Dolphins didn't stand behind Johnson.If it turns out that Johnson is guilty of headbutting his wife, then he deserves to be punished by the legal system. However, he's innocent until proven guilty.
But since we live in an age where every jerk hosting sports talk shows on television and radio get to act as judge, jury and executioner. That is un-American.
At the end of the day, the Dolphins did something wrong. The franchise's treatment of Chad shows why no signature free agents want to play for Miami. In getting rid of the clown, the Dolphins proved themselves to be a joke. The only way Stephen Ross is going to turn this thing around is by hiring Dan Marino as president of football operations.
He is the only one who can restore credibility to the Dolphins.
Follow Luke on Twitter: @unclelukereal1.
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