press conference questions
I wanna believe.
I wanna believe Jimmy Smith...with all my heart I wanna believe him. I wanna believe the guy is retiring while he still has knees and can enjoy life, and that's the whole story. I wanna believe the guy who stands out as the longest lasting, most productive Jaguar ever, beat cocaine and will live a long and happy life with his wife and kids. His story is one of the coolest ones I know...drafted by the Cowboys and cut after an appendectomy cost him an entire season, brought in by the Eagles and waived before he played a regular season game, a victim of pre-season cuts, sitting in his living room in Texas when the Jaguars called him to fill out an expansion team roster, because his mom sent some clippings to Tom Coughlin, begging him to give Jimmy a shot...and turning into one of the most prolific pass catchers ever, and the last remaining original Jaguar. People around here ask when we're going to luck out and have one of those Kurt Warner stories, where sombody falls in your lap and becomes a superstar. Wake up folks. We had one of those, and his name is Jimmy Smith.
I will admit though that I have doubts. I have doubts because regardless of what he says about mulling over the decision for months, I haven't seen that, and for me, the decision came out of the blue. I have doubts because I know, one more failed drug test and he would have lost an entire season. I have doubts because we just saw Ricky Williams go through that ordeal in Miami. Lastly, I have doubts because with the first revelation about Jimmy's cocaine use, he vehemently denied it to our collective faces, and I believed him then, and I was fooled. Fool me once, shame on you...
So he has a press conference yesterday and the question was asked, "Does this decision have anything to do with drug use." Jimmy denied it did, and I believe him, but I'm not about to rip the guy who asked the question. The reporter is being villified in J'ville.
"It wasn't the right time for that kind of question."
"If Jimmy was a white guy, you wouldn't have asked him that."
"That's the kind of racist stunt that makes us a one horse town in the nation's eyes."
That's a lot of crap. It wasn't a stunt. It wasn't racist. The question should have been asked. If anyone in Jimmy's shoes retired like he did, with that drug situation hanging over his head, in Chicago, or Boston, or for God's sake, New York, the media would be all over it. If only one reporter asked about it, that'd be the shock. There would be follow-on after follow-on question until the dead horse was beat to a pulp. It has nothing to do with Jimmy Smith's color, or the fact that we live in Jacksonville. It has to do with the timing of his decision, and the circumstances surrounding it, that he put there with his past drug use. If the time was wrong, when would be the right time? There isn't a better time, and the question deserved to be asked. The guy's not stupid. He had to know it was coming and had to be dealt with.
I was fooled once. Shame on you Jimmy Smith for that. I believed him yesterday when he was asked the question, and denied he was using drugs. I partially believed him because I want to. I want to believe the guy I cheered so many years won't lie to me twice. If he did, and I was gullible, shame on me. If he didn't, I can live with one of my heroes beating cocaine, and riding off into the sunset. I can even admire him for that, along with his on-the-field accomplishments.
I wanna believe Jimmy Smith...with all my heart I wanna believe him. I wanna believe the guy is retiring while he still has knees and can enjoy life, and that's the whole story. I wanna believe the guy who stands out as the longest lasting, most productive Jaguar ever, beat cocaine and will live a long and happy life with his wife and kids. His story is one of the coolest ones I know...drafted by the Cowboys and cut after an appendectomy cost him an entire season, brought in by the Eagles and waived before he played a regular season game, a victim of pre-season cuts, sitting in his living room in Texas when the Jaguars called him to fill out an expansion team roster, because his mom sent some clippings to Tom Coughlin, begging him to give Jimmy a shot...and turning into one of the most prolific pass catchers ever, and the last remaining original Jaguar. People around here ask when we're going to luck out and have one of those Kurt Warner stories, where sombody falls in your lap and becomes a superstar. Wake up folks. We had one of those, and his name is Jimmy Smith.
I will admit though that I have doubts. I have doubts because regardless of what he says about mulling over the decision for months, I haven't seen that, and for me, the decision came out of the blue. I have doubts because I know, one more failed drug test and he would have lost an entire season. I have doubts because we just saw Ricky Williams go through that ordeal in Miami. Lastly, I have doubts because with the first revelation about Jimmy's cocaine use, he vehemently denied it to our collective faces, and I believed him then, and I was fooled. Fool me once, shame on you...
So he has a press conference yesterday and the question was asked, "Does this decision have anything to do with drug use." Jimmy denied it did, and I believe him, but I'm not about to rip the guy who asked the question. The reporter is being villified in J'ville.
"It wasn't the right time for that kind of question."
"If Jimmy was a white guy, you wouldn't have asked him that."
"That's the kind of racist stunt that makes us a one horse town in the nation's eyes."
That's a lot of crap. It wasn't a stunt. It wasn't racist. The question should have been asked. If anyone in Jimmy's shoes retired like he did, with that drug situation hanging over his head, in Chicago, or Boston, or for God's sake, New York, the media would be all over it. If only one reporter asked about it, that'd be the shock. There would be follow-on after follow-on question until the dead horse was beat to a pulp. It has nothing to do with Jimmy Smith's color, or the fact that we live in Jacksonville. It has to do with the timing of his decision, and the circumstances surrounding it, that he put there with his past drug use. If the time was wrong, when would be the right time? There isn't a better time, and the question deserved to be asked. The guy's not stupid. He had to know it was coming and had to be dealt with.
I was fooled once. Shame on you Jimmy Smith for that. I believed him yesterday when he was asked the question, and denied he was using drugs. I partially believed him because I want to. I want to believe the guy I cheered so many years won't lie to me twice. If he did, and I was gullible, shame on me. If he didn't, I can live with one of my heroes beating cocaine, and riding off into the sunset. I can even admire him for that, along with his on-the-field accomplishments.
John put this out here at 7:06 AM
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