An Open Letter to Brandon Marshall

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Dear Mr. Marshall,

On behalf of the many fans outside (and maybe inside) the Denver area, I would like to ask you to quit behaving like an ass.

Case in point: Prior to your suspension for insubordination, there were three classless acts that sent a loud message to your teammates and the rest of the NFL teams that might have an interest in your services.

Act I: Walking in practice while the rest of your team was running. Way to show unity with the team. Your issue of being unhappy with your current contract should not carry over to what is being done on the field. 

Act II: Swatting away passes rather than catching them. Yeah, that will show them you mean business. What are you, 12 years old and pissed off at your parents because they won't let you stay up for an extra hour on a school night?

Act III: Punting a ball instead of handing it over to a ball boy. Even more childish than swatting away passes. I may have given you too much credit by asking if you were 12!

Look, I understand that you feel underappreciated and became upset when the Bronco's traded away Jay Cutler. I don't think any wide receiver with your talent would be happy with the wounded ducks that Kyle Orton throws.

I also understand that you feel you are underpaid compared to receivers at your level such as Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Andre Johnson, and Randy Moss. By that same token, you did sign a four-year contract and since you performed so well, your salary for 2009 went from $535,000 to $2.2 million. 

And yet you pout, walk in practice, swat balls away, and punt balls down field in frustration.

Consider those wide receivers that are on the cusp of being cut by teams. They would give anything to have 1/8 of your talent to just play the game.

This is the last year of your contract. Rather than be a petulant child, suck it up, start catching passes and scoring touchdowns instead of bitching about "only" getting $2.2 million dollars. Do you not understand the gift and luck that you have that millions of Americans do not? 

As a selfish child, I wouldn't imagine that you would. After all, it is all about Brandon, isn't it?

I submit to you, Mr. Marshall, to man-up, apologize to Coach McDaniels, to your teammates, and to the rest of the NFL. Then, get out there and practice your tail off and put up some huge numbers so that other teams will take notice come free agent time. 

It's not too late to view this as a bump in the road in your career. People screw up, but the good ones see the error of their ways and correct them.

So quit acting like a baby, apologize for your stupidity, shut up, and start playing football.

Sincerely,

A fan of the game

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