What Do You Do When It Is One Of Your Own?

My take on the Chiefs is simple.

I support the team whether they are 1-15 or 15-1, but the problem is that players on a 1-15 team can’t add to the struggle by making stupid mistakes.

Suffering through a losing season is hard, no doubt, but making it worse, a la Larry Johnson just makes the fans even more upset.

If the Chiefs feel Bowe made a poor decision or just an honest mistake fine…..but these types of things are far more glaring when the team struggles week in and week out.

I honestly don’t see Bowe being a Chief next season.

I’ve thought he was okay, and I was glad to see him have a good rookie season, but he just hasn’t developed like he should’ve after that. I think I’ll be as supportive as I ever have been of him. I don’t think a diuretic really changes my opinion of him much, if at all. If anything, it just makes me think he’s kind of dumb for not paying attention to what he was taking, given the NFL’s policy on those types of products.

That diuretics can mask steroids… So going by that I can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be back, especially given the evidence that Bowe was told to lose 20 pounds, and he failed the test before the season started… Non-issue in my book.

Unless something has changed, players are not suspended 4 games for a first positive test in violation of the substance-abuse policy, right?

He made a bad mistake. It doesn’t reflect on his character or competitiveness. The brass is smart enough to see this. All 53 of the “Right 53” are not perfect little angels. It’s about their character and dedication to the team.

Bowe’s mistake was to try to lose weight to meet the demands of the TEAM…giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Bowe is nothing special. We drank his kool aid before he ever proved himself here. He had a lot of yards last year, but take into account how many he gave up on all those drops and we could sure do a lot better here in KC. He’s slow and he’s not reliable.

Secondly. I believe in a truly free America. It’s not the governments business to tell grown ment what to do with their bodies. If they want steroids, let em do their thing. We’re supposed to be free to decide for ourselves aren’t we?

99 problems but a pitch aint one

Let’s face it – you cut your own team a lot of slack. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that it was to lose weight and not mask steroids. And if it was steroid related, I’ll be disappointed but will still be willing to forgive.

I think the bigger issue is that he probably took this illegal substance knowingly. (So far he hasn’t come out and said otherwise.) If it was steroid related then that’s a pretty open and shut case – it’s all in the name of getting better. If it was to lose weight then it points me to the bigger picture: he never should have showed up at camp overweight in the first place. His entire livelihood is tied to his body and he needs to learn to take care of it in the off-season. I hope he at least learns that lesson and can go on to have many productive years for the Chiefs.

Unfortunately these next four games will be even more difficult to watch.

First, I don’t blame any player ever for trying to gain an advantage—even if it means trying to beat the rules. Their pay and their livelihood is linked to their performance and unlike most of average joes, they are in signed employment contracts, they are not at-will employees who could be out of a job at the drop of a hat. Second, the pills aren’t magic. All the steroids in the world won’t help you if you sit around and eat Doritos all day

1) Most players (especially in skill positions) have guarentted dollars in their contracts.

2) Breaking the rules is breaking the rules; and arguing that it’s ok to break the rules if you did it for what you consider a good reason is not a good enough excuse.

3) Steriods (which Bowe did not test positive for) are a DANGEROUS DRUG. I’ve seen first hand what they can do to a person. It’s not like taking a vitamin C tablet. The side effects are extreme, even up to death.

4) If pro player are “allowed” or consistently “forgiven” by the fans and the league for taking steroids then you will see a significant number of players begin taking them just to try to “gain an advantage” (see: baseball). Over time that results in college players being almost FORCED to take steriods just to level the playing field and give them a chance to make it to the pros. Which means HIGHSCHOOL players that desperately want a football scholarship to go college will have to begin taking them just to try to compete with the level of play on a college field.

Maybe you don’t think it’s a horrible thing to effectively encourage high school age BOYS to take steriods, or to at least dismiss it as “just trying to get an advantage” , but I certainly do. We should not be dismissing any behavior involving the encouragemnet of young people to take dangerous drugs with lasting side effects just so they can level the playing field. Making it from highschool football to the NFL is a 1 in a million shot, literally. If you want to level the playing field then you do it the right way. You BAN steriods; test for them randomly and regualrly, and have a firm suspension leading to league removal policy; and then you stick to your guns on it.

4) Forget about the NFL substence abuse policy; Steroids without a perscription are an illegal narcotic. Bowe tested positive for a banned substence. He’s not fighting it. he’s not lying about it, and he’s taking his lumps. At least i can respect his attitude in that reguard. Personel responcibility is a thing that too many people shrug off as they point fingers at others and then make excuses for why they did what they did.

IMO if a player tests positive for ANY illegal narcotic they should not just be suspended, the testing results should be handed over to the authorities so that legal precedings can begin on charges of posession of a controlled substence. A diaretic is not an illegal drug, but guys like Merriman and Bonds that test positive should be prosecuted as well as suspended/fired.

The price you pay for being able to make milliions and millions of dollars playing a game / sport is that you will be looked up to and emulated by others. Every one of the players needs to respect the fact that their actions effect more than just themselves and that they have to do it clean. They have to own their mistakes, stop making the excuses, and pay the price for their actions.

5) Illegal is illegal. I wouldn’t get a pass from the law if i tested positive for an illegal narcotic and the players shouldn’t either, no matter how much money they make.

I’m not trying to make this a personal attack on you, or anyone else. But the attitude that it’s “OK” because they are just trying to “get and edge” and that if they can do it without getting caught we should all “be ok with it” is a great big steaming pile of crap. It’s excuses made for players just because you’re a fan. Instead of giving them a pass because it would be better for my team; I’d rather punish them to the full extent of the policy / law and send a message to my team showing them how I feel about elietist, cheating, illegal drug taking players being allowed to don the uniform I love.

I know Bowe had great rookie stats. Hell, he had great stats last year. But we didn’t win. You have to catch the passes that count. The ones that he drops at just the wrong time. He had no competition here either. Who else was going to get the ball at a wide receiver spot besides him? No one hardly. Tony got more than anyone really and he’s a TE.

So when you throw a disproportionate amount of passes to one guy on your team, of course his stats are going to spike. Not taking anything from him, I’m just being real.
He drops a lot of passes and when your only job is to catch the ball and you can’t do that on a real consistent basis then no one can count on you. And by default then you cannot be the best receiver out there for a team.

I’d take Miles Austin over DBowe any day. ANY DAY! Look at Wade. He came here with a pretty good rep. But now it shows that what they were saying about him in Minn. is true. They didn’t cut him years earlier because they didn’t have a suitable replacement yet. The second they got one he was gone. Look at him in KC. He drops as many passes as Bowe does.

If Bowe nets us a great trade opportunity for say a couple really awesome linemen then it’s worth it. He’s not all that! He’s a talented young kid who got way more balls thrown his way than any other receiver. He’s still slow and can’t catch all the time. Not opposed to Bowe, just not a huge fan, we could certainly do better for sure is all I’m saying.