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

[Ricky Spanish]

I was saving all these training camp threads so I could read them at work tomorrow when I got free time, but I'll be damned if I haven't F5'd this bitch repeatedly since I found it. 

Who needs TV when you have the huddle?

[NanuqoftheNorth]

12 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I've seen plenty of comments in this thread about how this story casts Jerry Richardson in a bad light.

How does it affect your perception of Ron Rivera?

Ron has an out... "It was above his pay grade."

Seriously, it was.

[Snake]

A guy(source ) I know has said that Smith had almost immunity to do what he wanted because Richardson treated him like a son. He went on to say he has hit coaches, players, and staff when pissed off. Hitting Cam doesn't really surprise me because it was just another day to Smith. 

[pantherphan96]

Also explains why Smitty isn't retiring a Panther... might be out of his hands

[PhillyB]

3 minutes ago, Snake said:

A guy(source ) I know has said that Smith had almost immunity to do what he wanted because Richardson treated him like a son. He went on to say he has hit coaches, players, and staff when pissed off. Hitting Cam doesn't really surprise me because it was just another day to Smith. 

hit coaches?

poo

 

[PhillyB]

i wonder how much it would take to get him to hit shula

[NanuqoftheNorth]

10 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

It's kind of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" proposition in this case.

Let's say you hold a press conference and speak glowingly of all his achievements and how much you love him and thank him for everything.

How do you think an already pissed off Steve Smith reacts to that?

Who knows, but Cam might not have taken it well either.  

Getting pounded on the field and in the locker room while management spoke glowingly about his assailant.

Steve had a well established record for putting the people he swung at in the hospital and ending their careers.

It may have been all the team could muster to put up with his antics till the end of the season.

[pantherphan96]

Wouldn't be shocked if Smith scuffled with WR/DB coaches before. This guy has hit multiple teammates over multiple years.

[Snake]

Just now, PhillyB said:

hit coaches?

poo

 

Yea I got no real info on that but the overall message was he's a real jerk who was like God to the Panthers. When Dave cut him it sent a clear message that no one was safe. I think it was why we became so successful after that. 

[NanuqoftheNorth]

8 minutes ago, Snake said:

A guy(source ) I know has said that Smith had almost immunity to do what he wanted because Richardson treated him like a son. He went on to say he has hit coaches, players, and staff when pissed off. Hitting Cam doesn't really surprise me because it was just another day to Smith. 

Wasn't the last OC under John Fox directed to no longer talk to Steve Smith?

Wanna say Steve went over everyone's head directly to JR on that issue.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

5 minutes ago, Snake said:

Yea I got no real info on that but the overall message was he's a real jerk who was like God to the Panthers. When Dave cut him it sent a clear message that no one was safe. I think it was why we became so successful after that. 

And when the Gettleman haters came out in force.

Cause winning isn't really that important.

[Proudiddy]

45 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

Yeah, it is pretty much SOP to release a short statement thanking people for their contributions and wishing them the best of luck.  

Heck, if that is all JR was concerned about he could have had his personal secretary gin up a statement like the one he just issued with Gettleman's termination last week.  

Instead, it could have been written three years ago, leaving the name on the form letter blank.  Attached would have been a sticky saying "DG from now on use this form letter when terminating players or I'll fill in the blank area with your name, signed JR".

Yeah, seeing how all of this has played out 3 years later, and it seems like it confirms what I suspected of JR and his involvement during DGs tenure as well.  I've said elsewhere on the huddle that I have had the impression that JR values Accorsi's pick in DG, and gave him total autonomy initially.  JR's lack of presence and/or visibility at the point that Smitty, who was like a son to him, was released, was always curious to me.  Now, as I suspected, it seems like it was the first, "Ok, I'll trust you on it, but I don't like it," move of a series that ultimately JR couldn't get around.  And ultimately, JR decided to get involved again and thus, fired DG and re-inserted a guy who wouldn't act as autonomously...  where JR is most comfortable.  I just hope they've learned something over the last 22 years.

All that said, And not to turn this into another referendum of DG, but I can now acknowledge he likely made the right choice in this situation...  as hard as it is to say that.  If they knew it was a growing problem that wouldn't settle itself, Smitty forced their hand, and that sucks bc although I always imagined it was possible, combined with other situations and the idea that Smitty would force his own demise here, I just didn't think it was likely.  That being said, I still had issue with Dave on his handling of other negotiations and the effect it had on our reputation and on-dield outcomes...  the Norman thing was a lot more out in the open and very clear in reading what happened.  I still think that was an unforgivable gaffe for any GM...  JMO.  

But, yeah, I have to take a huge step back on my criticism of DG as far as his handling of Smitty goes.  It just sucks having to acknowledge your hero's tragic flaws run that deep...

[frash.exe]

any of you guys watch the sopranos when they were producing episodes? you remember that episode where meadow's boyfriend basically confirms to everyone in the back of satriale's that vito sucks dick, and chris moltisanti is wearing the biggest "i knew it" grin of all of them? i hope you do bc that's the look i've got on my face right now.

everybody on here tries to rip into me for being so harsh on smith's character the past few years, but the truth is that i'm a really good judge of character. when we lost against the cardinals embarassingly years ago, i immediately mused that it marked the end of john fox's run in carolina, and that he would work here until his contract expired in 2010 as a lame duck, and nobody bought it, and that's exactly what happened. for years i pegged hurney as a glorified yes man for JR, there to oversee the day to day operations and make sure the basic, major directives that JR wanted were met, and that there was little else that qualified him for the position, and he rears a spoiled locker room depleted in talent beyond the main guys and he ruins the fuging cap, and the whole time, everybody tells me that i don't know what i'm talking about.

i don't think smith is quite the benevolent tireless fighter family man that the media portrays him to be. i think he's a phony bully who is also an extrovert and a social butterfly, and he knows that the media's perception of him is that he is a player worthy of being on a team of greater importance. because nobody gives a flying poo about carolina (for all of kerry collins' irrational outbursts and notoriety, one thing he did hit the nail on the head on was when he described that he was bummed out for being drafted to carolina bc he thought we were this ass backwards, podunk organization.)

oh did he threaten a former teammate in front of his own children? punched a few other guys too? oh you just don't understand him. the guy fought to get where he is from the bottom. he worked at taco bell once blah blah blah. the media has romanticized smith's "struggle" since at least the triple crown season. he's the underdog story, he's the everyman to them. so he knows he can play them like a fiddle. they have a value to him. and he has a value to them bc they know that his narrative sells. so he's not going to rip the press and lose adoration. given all of this corroboration happening, some journalists might have heard this very thing but brushed it off as insignificant, or didn't want to upset the applecart. 

 

[PhillyB]

3 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

Wasn't the last OC under John Fox directed to no longer talk to Steve Smith?

Wanna say Steve went over everyone's head directly to JR on that issue.

yep. scot can probably tell it better but smith went over fox's head to JR and complained about davidson. davidson was told to not talk to his own player. that is the kind of climate jerry has built in BOA. it's unbelievably toxic and the scary part is he's rebuilding a platform to introduce that kind of toxicity back into the organization from the top.