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In recent comments to GQ, Alexander Smith, Washington fullback, made candid, candid comments about his belief that the team did not want me there as he tried to return from a badly broken leg. Smith now seems to regret the impact his comments have had.
‘Looks like it’ becomes the key word because Smith did not go on record to explain the situation. Instead, someone leaked more information about the situation to JP Finlay from 106.7 The Fan in DC
“I spoke to a source close to Alex yesterday,” Finlay said. ‘One thing they want to make clear is that Alex is talking to a reporter who knows nothing about footballl, and if you go back, the first story that came out had to be edited because Alex said ‘IR’ and the reporter thought it meant ‘high arm’. This is not a man who knows football. And this is not a chance. I do not know lifestyle; I could not go write a fashion piece. I can write about football because it’s my job. . . . The message from the source I spoke to near Alex is that there is no hostility towards the organization. None of these comments were meant to drive anyone crazy. He simply told the story of what happened. ”
There is no denial or dispute about the words Smith used when speaking to Clay Skipper GQ. And what if Skipper thinks he hears ‘high arm’ instead of ‘IR’? Does that make the quotes he attributed to Smith wrong?
He said what he said, and no one says he did not say it. Smith’s concern does not appear to be what he said or what was written, but the reaction to it.
To his credit, Smith is not trying to say he did not say what he said. He said it. He presumably meant it. He just did not mean that it should be interpreted as criticism of the team.
But how could he not? He chose strong words that painted a clear picture that the team did not want Smith back on the field. Unless and until he uses different words or says that the words he used are not the words that were published, Smith or any source close to him should not complain about the way those who see and hear the words react to it. .