This isn’t pro wrestling anymore. Green Bay’s Reggie White took a dive for pro wrestler and former teammate Steve McMichael last spring.
“Deborah (McMichael’s wife) distracted me and Steve hit me on the side of the head with his briefcase,” White said. “People ask me why I lost to McMichael, but it was fun.”
Fun is over. Football is here. And already, the quarterbacks are getting hurt. In Carolina and Jacksonville and Denver, the preseason is no longer meaningless. Kerry Collins broke his jaw and Mark Brunell tore up his knee and John Elway popped his biceps.
So Minister of Defense Reggie White was asked what can be done about this carnage. And White blew his stack.
People always ask White how a man of God, or anyone, for that matter, can reconcile the violence of pro football. White always patiently answers that “violence” is an improper description.
“Kids putting guns to other kids’ heads, that’s violent,” White said. “Our sport is aggressive.”
So White wonders why there is always a fuss over quarterbacks getting hurt. He knew Denver linebacker Bill Romanowski was in trouble for hitting Collins with his helmet before the league announced its $20,000 fine. White called it “a good hit. He’s going to get fined for playing football.”
“Injuries happen on our side of the ball too,” White said. “Defensive guys get injured and no one questions that. But when a quarterback gets injured, people question what needs to be done to protect them.”
White knows all about the argument that quarterbacks create points, which sells tickets. He just has a hard time understanding it.
“When is good defense ugly? If we hold a team to zero, that’s a great game for us, no matter what anybody else may think,” he said.
White believes there is nothing that can be done about preventing injuries in football. Nor should anything be done.
“Guys get injured no matter what,” he said. “This game is a very aggressive game and it’s going to be that way. I’m tired of people taking aggressiveness away from us. There’s going to be injuries in this game.”
Still, his questioners persist. White is asked what can be done to “fix the aggressiveness.”
“Don’t fix it. There’s been people fixing it for too long,” he said. “We’ve been working our tails off during the off-season trying to get ourselves prepared to come in and win. I know and everybody else knows injuries are part of the game.”
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Reggie the preacher is warming up now. He recalls his own injuries, none of which caused an outcry for rules changes.
“People didn’t make too much of a hype until God did a miracle on my leg when I tore my hamstring, or when I tore my MCL (knee ligament) or the ligament in my elbow. It’s only when quarterbacks get hurt that a big deal is made out of it,” he said.
It was suggested to White that he wasn’t sounding very compassionate. What if Packers quarterback Brett Favre got hurt? Wouldn’t White be upset about that?
“Of course I’d be upset if he got hurt,” White said, raising his voice now. “But it’s not about compassion. It’s part of the game. How many people had a great deal of compassion for me when I tore my hamstring?”
Then Reggie White told it as it is:
“I’m not the type of guy to want to end anybody’s career. When Joe Theismann’s career ended, it was sad for all of us, particularly Lawrence Taylor because he’s the one who hurt him. You don’t like to see career-ending injuries. But when you’ve got a great quarterback and you can put him out for a week or so, not with the intention of trying to put him out, but if he’s hurt, that gives you a chance to win.
“If Brett Favre is hurt, I’m sure a lot of guys in Minnesota, a lot of guys in Chicago, will be happy because it gives them a chance to win. Of course I’d be upset if Brett is hurt, but the thing is, injuries happen. It’s not about having compassion.”
The rules are already overdone to protect quarterbacks, White said.
“You see offensive linemen hugging defensive linemen. Referees tell you the hands are supposed to be inside. You see hands outside all the time. When guys are mauling you, there’s not much you can do. So don’t ask me to have compassion for guys when things like that happen because I’m trying to think about what I have to do to help my team win.
“I’ve played over 10,000 plays and gotten only 30 holding calls. Why should you ask me to have compassion for a quarterback when the odds work against me?”
Countdown to kickoff. Close your eyes if necessary.