Should Antrel Rolle play on Sunday?

By Michael Vass | December 2, 2010

Antrel Rolle isn’t shy about stating what he thinks, even if it is a half-assed thought. He said

“We risk ourselves out there on the field each and every day also. When soldiers come home from Iraq you don’t boo them. I look at it the same way. I take my job seriously.”

That comment was in response to his earlier comments expressing his displeasure with fans that booed the Giants at halftime in the game versus Jacksonville. At halftime the Giants were losing 17 – 6 and looked abysmal. [The Giants finally got their act together to rally for a 24 - 20 win.]

Of course someone was smart (not Rolle) and rushed to have Rolle amend his comment from just 2 hours earlier today.

“Obviously, there is no comparison between the men and women of our military putting their life on the line defending our country and what I do,” Rolle said in a statement issued by the team early in the evening. “They risk their lives and that gives me the opportunity to play a game for a living.

After I made my earlier comments, somebody even said to me: how would your father, who is the chief of police in Homestead (Fla.), and puts himself at risk every day, feel about the comparison you made? Again, it was a very poor, very inappropriate choice of words.”

Hell yes there is no comparison between a guy playing a game a couple of months a year and being paid hundreds of thousands if not millions for it and a soldier that makes $20 maybe $30 thoudand a year and gets shot at on a regular basis, everyday of the year.

Rolle is obviously wound a bit too tight. He may take the game seriously, but he also regards his profession a bit to loftily. His ego is speaking faster than his brain can realize how dumb he sounds.

If the Giants, or any football (hell any sports team), play like crap then they should expect that the fans – who ultimately pay their salary – are going to boo. That means Rolle too. If he doesn’t like it, he could always quit and join the Post Office (I don’t think they get booed there, but I could be wrong).

But if Rolle wants to get a bit of a reality check on how important his ability to play a game is, compared to defending the nation so schmucks can make idiotic statements from the comfort of their overpaid comfort zones, he could always volunteer to join the military. But I don’t think he has the balls.

So how should the Giants react to this? How can they let fans – more than a few of which have sons, daughters, fathers and/or mothers, that are serving in the Armed Forces and may be under fire this moment – know that such comments are not a reflection of what the team believes?

I suggest that Rolle sit on the bench on Sunday. In fact, make him sit there in regular clothers (a suit) among his peers fully aware that he could play, and let him do nothing. Let him come out onto the field seperate of the team, to a stadium wide boo from every fan. Let him get a clear understanding that his comments are the equivalent of a spoiled stuck-up booshie brat.

Maybe if all, or at least part, of that were to happen Rolle would get a sense of reality.

I’m a Giants fan, I love football. But there is no comparison to my love of those that are fighting and dying on behalf of this nation.

Only your support allows us to provide election coverage, event coverage, movie previews/reviews, and our entertainment/political commentary. Visit Alchemy at World of VASS, and/or World of Vass, and/or our store on eBay – help keep us going. We appreciate your support.