In general I don’t like when people talk dirty about someone after they are gone. I didn’t agree with a lot of the things LaDainian Tomlinson said about the Chargers’ organization after he left.
Sometimes you just have to keep it moving (unless you are the city of Cleveland).
I was a little surprised at some of the comments by Chargers players in regards to the difference in the locker room now that LT is gone. One the one hand I appreciate their honesty because when asked a question they answered it, but on the flip side you don’t want to make it seem like LT was a scapegoat for their post season failures. Here are a few of the quotes and you can form your own opinion:
“I don’t know how everyone feels or if they felt it,” said Rivers to Kevin Acee of the San Diego-Union Tribune. “Maybe it was a little bit of a relief. Maybe it’s a feeling of, ‘I can do a little more without wondering what he thinks.’ ”
The best Chargers confirm the idea, with Rivers saying Tomlinson was “touchy” on the subject of his workload.
“Sometimes you would get the sense that people felt bigger than the team,” Antonio Gates said. “Not to say it was an issue, but we know it’s not an issue for sure now.”
Gates, for one, appreciates Rivers’ inclusive leadership style.
“Me and LT had a wonderful relationship too. But sometimes you got the sense of stardom status and you can only take it so far. With Philip, I never feel that,” Gates said.
In the nicest way possible it appears they are saying that LT felt that even when his skills were diminishing he should still be treated as a star. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence, but it is a bit uncommon for a team to speak about publicly.
I always thought LT’s downfall started when he called himself “classy”.
When you start giving yourself superlatives that always makes me wonder if the stardom has went to your head. You should always feel you are the best, but you should let others say it.
With that being said the Chargers no longer have to worry about LT “hovering”, so we will see if that makes difference on the field.
