NFC North/NFL Thread 2016-17

[wadesworld]

Apparently the (I believe) left tackle for the Giants started yelling at, and then shoving, a reporter in the locker room after the game last night.

[MerrittsMustache]

Apparently the (I believe) left tackle for the Giants started yelling at, and then shoving, a reporter in the locker room after the game last night.

Not saying that Flowers handled it well at all, but when an angry 300+ pound man tells you to get out of his face and you don't listen, you're lucky if it ends in only a shove.

http://deadspin.com/report-giants-ot-ereck-flowers-shoved-espn-reporter-1787613994

[mu03eng]

Not saying that Flowers handled it well at all, but when an angry 300+ pound man tells you to get out of his face and you don't listen, you're lucky if it ends in only a shove.

http://deadspin.com/report-giants-ot-ereck-flowers-shoved-espn-reporter-1787613994

Ah, so the report was asking for it.

[Badgerhater]

Vike's D on a roll again. Up 24 zip. Just ran a punt back.

Most amazing, Fred Walsh hasn't missed yet.

Tanqueray Tommie blew the horn to start game. He blew only a .017.

As a young Viking fan, I think I remember there were years he had more DWIs than touchdowns.

[MU B2002]

Apparently the (I believe) left tackle for the Giants started yelling at, and then shoving, a reporter in the locker room after the game last night.

Was the only person he successfully blocked all night.

[MerrittsMustache]

Ah, so the report was asking for it.

Yep, that's exactly what I said 

Flowers and this reporter clearly have a history. Flowers played an awful game, was in no mood to talk to that reporter and asked him several times to leave. The report should have left. Period.

Was it smart for Flowers to shove the reporter? Absolutely not. Was it smart for the reporter to stay there despite being told several times to leave? Absolutely not. Lack of respect shown by both parties.

[mu03eng]

Yep, that's exactly what I said 

Flowers and this reporter clearly have a history. Flowers played an awful game, was in no mood to talk to that reporter and asked him several times to leave. The report should have left. Period.

Was it smart for Flowers to shove the reporter? Absolutely not. Was it smart for the reporter to stay there despite being told several times to leave? Absolutely not. Lack of respect shown by both parties.

Completely disagree. The reporter has a job and even if he was antagonistic (all accounts say he wasn't) there is no justification for a physical confrontation of any kind. I don't care if the reporter put a line at the end of everyone of his articles that said "Eric Flowers is a terrible human being who sucks at his job" getting physical with him is unacceptable.

If you put any onus on the reporter to not be near the player, that then invites players to be able to intimidate and bully reporters from asking questions and engaging the report.

[wadesworld]

Was the only person he successfully blocked all night.

Zing!  But true.

[MerrittsMustache]

Completely disagree. The reporter has a job and even if he was antagonistic (all accounts say he wasn't) there is no justification for a physical confrontation of any kind. I don't care if the reporter put a line at the end of everyone of his articles that said "Eric Flowers is a terrible human being who sucks at his job" getting physical with him is unacceptable.

If you put any onus on the reporter to not be near the player, that then invites players to be able to intimidate and bully reporters from asking questions and engaging the report.

It works both ways. If you put no onus on the reporter then that invites reporters to ignore a potential interviewees requests to be left alone. We agree that it wasn't OK for Flowers to shove the reporter but why do you think it was OK for the reporter to keep attempting to interview a person who had repeatedly asked him to leave?

What Flowers did was worse, but the reporter bears some responsibility too.

[mu03eng]

It works both ways. If you put no onus on the reporter then that invites reporters to ignore a potential interviewees requests to be left alone. We agree that it wasn't OK for Flowers to shove the reporter but why do you think it was OK for the reporter to keep attempting to interview a person who had repeatedly asked him to leave?

What Flowers did was worse, but the reporter bears some responsibility too.

Why can't the interviewer try and ask questions continuously? If he is over the top, eventually people will just stop talking to him and he can't do his job then. Maybe it's not a smart way to conduct his job(if he pissed everyone off) but that has nothing to do with whether he is ethically or morally obligated to not continue to try to interview Flowers. He's in the locker room during media availability and had a practical reason to want to interview Flowers, zero reason for him not to continue to try get an interview.

[rocket surgeon]

i so wish the 'ignore' feature would also block when people quote those ignored - i wouldn't have been exposed to this or that other gem.  so far this AM we have RS equating the CK anthem protest to a nazi salute and a blatantly racist post about OBJ. 

man i hope no recruits (or perspective students) ever come to this board and it looks like it's time to stay away from the Superbar.

(OBJ is a head case btw)

i "so wish"...blahblahblah...there's just no place that's safe anymore, 'ey?  i just love when someone has to announce that they have so & so on ignore.  doncha just "so wish" there was a double ignore button?   

[Pakuni]

It works both ways. If you put no onus on the reporter then that invites reporters to ignore a potential interviewees requests to be left alone. We agree that it wasn't OK for Flowers to shove the reporter but why do you think it was OK for the reporter to keep attempting to interview a person who had repeatedly asked him to leave?

What Flowers did was worse, but the reporter bears some responsibility too.

Classic victim blaming.
The reporter shares zero responsibility here. By all accounts he wasn't antagonizing Flowers, asking rude questions or being impolite in any way. He wasn't even asking questions, just standing nearby. He simply was doing what he's paid to do, and what the NFL explicitly allows him to do, which is to be in the locker room to hear from players after a game .... even players in a bad mood. Flowers doesn't get to arbitrarily revoke that right, nor does he get to be physical with people who won't "get the f**k out of his face, bro."

[MerrittsMustache]

Classic victim blaming.
The reporter shares zero responsibility here. By all accounts he wasn't antagonizing Flowers, asking rude questions or being impolite in any way. He wasn't even asking questions, just standing nearby. He simply was doing what he's paid to do, and what the NFL explicitly allows him to do, which is to be in the locker room to hear from players after a game .... even players in a bad mood. Flowers doesn't get to arbitrarily revoke that right, nor does he get to be physical with people who won't "get the f**k out of his face, bro."

You're dead wrong. If the reporter walks away when Flowers asked him to leave the first time...or second...or third...or fourth, then this doesn't happen. Does that mean Flowers was right to make physical contact with him? As I've stated several times, no. Flowers handled it poorly and made the situation worse than it needed to be. The reporter did too.

Also, Flowers most definitely does get to decide who he does and does not speak to after a game. If he doesn't want to talk to anyone, he can do that. He'll pay a fine to the NFL but that's his choice. He was willing to talk to other reporters but, for reasons unknown to us, he didn't want to speak with this particular one. The reporter should have respected that. In the end, I do commend the reporter for not making this into a bigger deal than it needed to be. He probably knows that he handled it poorly and it's obvious that Flowers handled it even worse.

[mu03eng]

You're dead wrong. If the reporter walks away when Flowers asked him to leave the first time...or second...or third...or fourth, then this doesn't happen. Does that mean Flowers was right to make physical contact with him? As I've stated several times, no. Flowers handled it poorly and made the situation worse than it needed to be. The reporter did too.

Also, Flowers most definitely does get to decide who he does and does not speak to after a game. If he doesn't want to talk to anyone, he can do that. He'll pay a fine to the NFL but that's his choice. He was willing to talk to other reporters but, for reasons unknown to us, he didn't want to speak with this particular one. The reporter should have respected that. In the end, I do commend the reporter for not making this into a bigger deal than it needed to be. He probably knows that he handled it poorly and it's obvious that Flowers handled it even worse.

If she hadn't gotten so drunk, this wouldn't have happened......

The scale of significance is different obviously, but you are victim shaming nonetheless. And keep in mind the reporter wasn't even talking to Flowers, just standing there. Does that mean Flowers has the right to not only not talk to a person but has the right to have people not be able to hear him?

[Pakuni]

You're dead wrong. If the reporter walks away when Flowers asked him to leave the first time...or second...or third...or fourth, then this doesn't happen. Does that mean Flowers was right to make physical contact with him? As I've stated several times, no. Flowers handled it poorly and made the situation worse than it needed to be. The reporter did too.

Also, Flowers most definitely does get to decide who he does and does not speak to after a game. If he doesn't want to talk to anyone, he can do that. He'll pay a fine to the NFL but that's his choice. He was willing to talk to other reporters but, for reasons unknown to us, he didn't want to speak with this particular one. The reporter should have respected that. In the end, I do commend the reporter for not making this into a bigger deal than it needed to be. He probably knows that he handled it poorly and it's obvious that Flowers handled it even worse.

Yes, Flowers can decide who to speak to and who not to speak to. Nobody has argued otherwise. What he cannot do is prevent - via physical assault or intimidation - someone from standing where he has every right to stand.
Your contention is that a person who has a right to be there and has to be there to do his job should nonetheless remove himself based on a player's whims?
So, if say, the president were holding a news conference and a credentialed reporter he (she?) doesn't like attends, that reporter should either leave or is at fault if the Secret Service roughs him/her up?
And, seriously, do we want a situation where reporters are required to go away because their interviewee doesn't want to deal with them?

[Lennys Tap]

i just love when someone has to announce that they have so & so on ignore. 

That was one of Chico's favorite moves.

[MerrittsMustache]

If she hadn't gotten so drunk, this wouldn't have happened......

The scale of significance is different obviously, but you are victim shaming nonetheless. And keep in mind the reporter wasn't even talking to Flowers, just standing there. Does that mean Flowers has the right to not only not talk to a person but has the right to have people not be able to hear him?

You really went apples to asteroids with that analogy. Let's not get overdramatic here. Shoving someone who you asked repeatedly to move out of your personal space is in no way shape or form even in the same realm as a drunk girl being sexually assaulted.

Yes, Flowers can decide who to speak to and who not to speak to. Nobody has argued otherwise. What he cannot do is prevent - via physical assault or intimidation - someone from standing where he has every right to stand.
Your contention is that a person who has a right to be there and has to be there to do his job should nonetheless remove himself based on a player's whims?
So, if say, the president were holding a news conference and a credentialed reporter he (she?) doesn't like attends, that reporter should either leave or is at fault if the Secret Service roughs him/her up?
And, seriously, do we want a situation where reporters are required to go away because their interviewee doesn't want to deal with them?

Let's get one thing straight to start...The POTUS holding a press conference is very different than an athlete talking to beat reporters after a game.

When did I say that it's OK to rough someone up? I said that the reporter was in the wrong but that what Flowers did was much worse.

Your contention is that if someone with whom you don't have a very good relationship is standing in your personal space and you can ask that person to repeatedly to leave, it would be completely and totally fine with you if that person were to stay. Let's get this clear, I'm not saying that Flowers was right to shove the reporter. He was very wrong. I'm also saying that it was disrespectful of the reporter to continue to stay close to Flowers after repeatedly being asked to leave.


I'll believe what I believe and you can believe whatever you want to believe. You guys seem to think this was a bigger deal than the actual reporter does.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

This is the reporters job. You get asked to do an interview you do it. Its such a competetive industry that you need to force your way in the door or make sure that door stays open. Even if the reporter was an ass (which it doesnt seem like he was) or wouldnt leave him alone, THAT IS HIS JOB.

Does a prosecuting attorney stop asking questions because the person on the stand wants to be left alone? Im pretty sure they dont, so why is this acceptable but a reporter asking questions in an environment where questions are allowed isnt? You would have an argument if the athlete is walking home from the store or out at dinner, but post game locker room pressers are usually fair game.

[mu03eng]

You really went apples to asteroids with that analogy. Let's not get overdramatic here. Shoving someone who you asked repeatedly to move out of your personal space is in no way shape or form even in the same realm as a drunk girl being sexually assaulted.

I clearly indicated the scale was different, but conceptually its the same. You are blaming a person for the inappropriate actions of another person who was simply doing their job and/or exerting their own personal rights.

Additionally, could you define how large the diameter of personal space is? 6 feet, 12 feet, 200 feet? The reporter was standing near Flower's locker and said nothing, how was he in his personal space?

[mu03eng]

I'll believe what I believe and you can believe whatever you want to believe. You guys seem to think this was a bigger deal than the actual reporter does.

You're the one making a federal case out how the reporter was in the wrong. The issue is of no particular interest to me, but the concept that somehow the reporter has fault in the situation is kind of crazy to me.

Side note, having players shoving reporters after games isn't exactly a great way to expand the ratings of the games.

[MerrittsMustache]

You're the one making a federal case out how the reporter was in the wrong. The issue is of no particular interest to me, but the concept that somehow the reporter has fault in the situation is kind of crazy to me.

Side note, having players shoving reporters after games isn't exactly a great way to expand the ratings of the games.

You thinks it's crazy, that's fine with me. I tend to believe that cases like this aren't always as clear-cut as "innocent victim" and "violent oppressor."

[MerrittsMustache]

To no one's surprise, all signs point to the Bears moving on from Cutler as soon as they can. Wouldn't be surprised to see him end up in Miami with Gase next season, or perhaps Brandon Marshall could convince the Jets to bring him in. Cutler and the NY media would be the quite the pairing!

[MU B2002]

He has a year left on his deal correct?  If they truly are moving on, I wonder if they could get anything in return at this point.  I'm too lazy to look up the details of his contract.

[MerrittsMustache]

He has a year left on his deal correct?  If they truly are moving on, I wonder if they could get anything in return at this point.  I'm too lazy to look up the details of his contract.

This is the last guaranteed year on his deal. The team only owes him $1M each of the next 2 seasons, as opposed to about $17M each season to keep him.

[RJax55]

This is the last guaranteed year on his deal. The team only owes him $1M each of the next 2 seasons, as opposed to about $17M each season to keep him.

Yeah, it peanuts. I agree, for various reasons, Jay is done with the Bears after the season. Wouldn't be shock to see him in Miami with Gase. Tannehill has been horrible.