Does that look like the face of a man that would rig a vote?…Wait, don’t answer that.
Before the season even started there was dissention within the Bucs organization. Reportedly the team held a players only meeting prior to their season opener against the Jets to discuss how their votes for team captain were counted. Quarterback Josh Freeman has been voted team captain by his peers for the past three years, but in what was a surprise to players, he lost out to wide receiver Vincent Jackson.
Here’s how Deadspin reported it.
Bucs players reportedly didn’t trust that their votes were fairly counted. It was a secret ballot, with the votes tabulated by coach Greg Schiano. And whatever trust the Bucs may have had in Schiano apparently evaporated long ago.
“There’s a lot of disarray in Tampa,” former Buc Shaun King told PFT. “Greg Schiano is a micromanager, and it’s starting to wear thin with some of their veteran players.”
Schiano denied vote-rigging yesterday, saying, “it’s 100 percent false. If there was such a thing as a 102 percent, this would be it.”
The fact that there is even a question about whether votes are being counted fairly is a HUGE issue. It’s no secret that Schiano doesn’t have much faith in his quarterback, and that players don’t like his iron fist way of running the team. Freeman also reportedly didn’t show up for the annual team photo last week.
I don’t suspect this will be the last of the drama as Schiano will continue to treat grown men like children, and those men will continue to push back. Stay tuned for the next episode of “As The Buc Turns”