unverified report: gettleman cut steve smith because in 2013 he punched cam newton in the face twice in the locker room after practice

[SOJA]

losing a lot of faith in this organization by the day. Really would not blame Cam for wanting out after this contract. Man I really hope we can win a super bowl before then 

[mrknowitall]

[mrknowitall]

here's what they would have to do to hold smith accountable:
- suspend smith and publicly announce the incident as reasoning in a press conference
- now you have the press asking a million questions and doing all this speculation
- a league-wide scandal that will be a huge distraction to an otherwise successful season
- jerry richardson is basically a father figure to the guy and if i'm ron i'm assuming that i will be opening pandora's box by exposing a player
*or*
sweep it under the rug, downplay it as not that big a deal but at the same time, swiftly restore order to the team. smith punching a teammate in the midst of a 6 game winning streak in the middle of the season is way different than any of the other physical altercations he had gotten in as they all happened prior to the regular season
 
guess which option ron is incentivized to go with

Okay. It's possible that things went down exactly as you say.

It's just a hard pill for me to swallow. I guess it's just me. Personally, I can totally see an altercation between Smitty and Cam happening. I just think the title to the thread is probably misleading. I feel like there may have been tension building between Cam and Smitty, and the decision might have been made that both could no longer coexist on the same team, and so Smitty was let go. Similar to Shaq and Kobe. Like, if someone came out years later and said the reason the Lakers traded Shaq was because he called Kobe's mama a whore, we'd all be like, nah. Maybe Shaq did call Kobe's mom a whore, but Shaq got traded because he and Kobe could no longer coexist, and so a decision had to be made. That's all I'm saying here. I just don't see Smitty being released specifically because he punched Cam in the face twice.

It would be easier for me to believe that a scrap was the result of the budding tension, than it is for me to believe that one random day, Smitty popped Cam in the face twice, and it was sooooo bad that the powers-that-be said, "Y'know how I figured that Cam and Smitty could have a few more seasons together... Welp, those two punches changed my mind. I'm gonna have to let Smitty go, but I'll do it at the end of the season, to avoid all the distraction."

I wasn't there, so I don't know. Maybe it was the punches. And maybe there was some kind of conspiratorial effort to cover it all up. What's done is done, right.


Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Punches:  Final straw that broke the camel's back.

[Mr. Scot]

3 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

I think this sort of solution would require everyone involved being on board with telling the same story to the media.

I doubt that was possible in this case.

I also doubt anyone in management would be foolish enough to risk ruining their professional credibility/integrity in order to cover up for Smitty's (alleged) bad behavior.  

I'd be willing to bet that - even given recent events - if you asked Dave Gettleman about this story, he wouldn't discuss it.

Puts a new spin on the "that's above my pay grade" comments though, doesn't it?

[frash.exe]

1 minute ago, mrknowitall said:

 

Okay. It's possible that things went down exactly as you say.

It's just a hard pill for me to swallow. I guess it's just me. Personally, I can totally see an altercation between Smitty and Cam happening. I just think the title to the thread is probably misleading. I feel like there may have been tension building between Cam and Smitty, and the decision might have been made that both could no longer coexist on the same team, and so Smitty was let go. Similar to Shaq and Kobe. Like, if someone came out years later and said the reason the Lakers traded Shaq was because he called Kobe's mama a whore, we'd all be like, nah. Maybe Shaq did call Kobe's mom a whore, but Shaq got traded because he and Kobe could no longer coexist, and so a decision had to be made. That's all I'm saying here. I just don't see Smitty being released specifically because he punched Cam in the face twice.

It would be easier for me to believe that a scrap was the result of the budding tension, than it is for me to believe that one random day, Smitty popped Cam in the face twice, and it was sooooo bad that the powers-that-be said, "Y'know how I figured that Cam and Smitty could have a few more seasons together... Welp, those two punches changed my mind. I'm gonna have to let Smitty go, but I'll do it at the end of the season, to avoid all the distraction."

I wasn't there, so I don't know. Maybe it was the punches. And maybe there was some kind of conspiratorial effort to cover it all up. What's done is done, right.


Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

 

honestly i don't know if this gains legs and snowballs. like you said it was over three years ago. if this information had come out freshly after smith was cut and was tirading all over social media, maybe it's a different story. then you'd have that and the whole greg hardy scandal going on at the same time. actually, now that i mention that, could be the reason that they never addressed it then was because of greg hardy's assault incident. these things can really make it hard for a team to focus on anything. they probably just tried to put themselves past it as smitty was talking about blood and guts or w/e.

[OneBadCat]

I could totally see it but I'm just surprised it could stay under wraps this long.

[Proudiddy]

9 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

I think this sort of solution would require everyone involved being on board with telling the same story to the media.

I doubt that was possible in this case.

I also doubt anyone in management would be foolish enough to risk ruining their professional credibility/integrity in order to cover up for Smitty's (alleged) bad behavior.  

Yeah, i dont mean like some nefarious, shady cover-up...  I'm just referring to maintaining the optics they were already running - "Everything is good over here.  Happy and professional." 

And honestly,  I'm just saying they should've done it for the public.  Teams do it all the time, whether it is true or not, to maintain a good reputation, regardless of the player's side of the story.  I honestly don't think it matters the reasoning, Smitty wasn't going to take it in stride and was going to be pissed off.  So, I'm just saying, I would've liked to see us send him out on a classy note, whether he wanted to accept it or not (which he wouldn't).  It just looks and feels better, imo.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Just now, Mr. Scot said:

I'd be willing to bet that - even given recent events - if you asked Dave Gettleman about this story, he wouldn't discuss it.

Puts a new spin on the "that's above my pay grade" comments though, doesn't it?

If DG has any interest in another NFL position he won't comment on this.

"that's above my pay grade"  would be about the most I'd expect DG to say and that is pushing it a bit.

[PhillyB]

13 minutes ago, top dawg said:

Knowing human nature, not everyone was or is a fan of Cam or Smitty. Not even those in the locker room.  If it got to your drinking buddy, it would have made it to someone else, with loose lips, before now. Moreover, I would take a guess that something like that is mandated to be reported by the NFL and/or the NFLPA. Being the company man that JR is, I don't see him not following through if the story is as bad as that. 

I'm leaving the tinfoil hat on the shelf in the closet for this one.

i understand why you're skeptical and i was too until independent sources started verifying it. i'm still skeptical but literally none of it runs against grains long ago corroborated by other reliable sources.

not a stretch to see it being downplayed as a minor scuffle so as to avoid being reported. this is also very consistent with what we know about JR's methods and dynamics with favorite players whom he views as commodities for his business.

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, Proudiddy said:

So, I'm just saying, I would've liked to see us send him out on a classy note, whether he wanted to accept it or not (which he wouldn't).  It just looks and feels better, imo.

You know as well as I do that there was no way that was ever going to happen.

The only way Smith was ever leaving peacefully was if he did it on his own terms.

[PhillyB]

19 minutes ago, Proudiddy said:

Well, phil...  I have a feeling you just became (even more) famous lol.  This will go national.

imo it would have to be publicly confirmed by someone close to the team for any national writers to pick it up. at best it's an interesting piece of a week-old story on gettleman's firing and at worst inconsequential dirt on a retired player

[SmartyHurney]

You guys are some gullible mother fugers.

Go back and check out tweets from that time from players, nothing stirring, nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing from reporters, nothing happening in games to show discontent.

[Mr. Scot]

4 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

If DG has any interest in another NFL position he won't comment on this.

"that's above my pay grade"  would be about the most I'd expect DG to say and that is pushing it a bit.

I didn't really like those comments when they were made.

Now?