Local Newspaper Columnist Attacks Bob Sanders, Feels He's Owed More

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I woke up yesterday morning, grabbed the Erie Times-News (that's the local paper in Erie, PA for those who don't know about this editorial juggernaut), opened up the sports section and read the headline:

"Amid his giving, Sanders displays another side"

That's my city; where the front page of the sports section is lead by a column attacking a local sports hero for giving to charity.  I guess our NBA D-League team was off Saturday night.

You can check out the column here if you'd like, but I'll summarize it for you.  At least how I perceive it.

First of all, I'm not a Bob Sanders fan.  Never was, never will be.  I'm glad a guy from Erie, PA made it the NFL and was successful, but I could care less about his upbringing, his career, or about the money he's made.  After reading John Dudley's column yesterday, I did care what was said though.

In the column, John Dudley attempted to paint a picture of Bob Sanders as a charitable man, who should be a role model to all, except for his one flaw; he won't talk to John Dudley.  He lamented throughout the piece about how Bob wouldn't answer any questions about his amount of donations, his injuries, his salary, or anything else he didn't want to talk about.  The column stated how a local television station made a DVD for him in a rushed manner and how Bob wanted submitted questions when he requested an interview for him.  Dudley passed on the interview. I guess he had too much pride or his ego was too big to have an interview where questions were submitted.

What the piece was really about is that Bob can give to so many people; he just won't give to John Dudley.

Maybe I'm not in the media world so I don't understand the politics of it fully, but to write a piece making it sound like Bob Sanders owes us, the local people of Erie, answers to the questions you want answered is ridiculous.

Bob Sanders doesn't owe me anything.

I think too many people these days feel that all athletes should act a certain way towards the media.  People act like it's an injustice to society if an athlete doesn't want to answer questions or accept an interview.  Media members really think that they are partly responsible for helping an athlete get to where they're at and they should be owed something for it.  Do people ever just think that some athletes don't want the attention and others just want their private life to be private?

Bob Sanders was back in Erie, PA for Bob Sanders weekend.  During the weekend he provided $to start computer labs at two schools.  A reporter from the Erie Times-News asked for the amount donated and Bob got upset because he either didn't want to answer it or he didn't have the figure on hand.  Now Bob's a bad guy.

I think Bob Sanders doesn't want his charitable efforts to become publicized.  He gives money away and provides goodwill because of his character, not because it makes him look good to society.

Here's a little information that was never publicized about Bob.  A couple years ago a relative of mine was injured severely in a car accident.  He had brain damage and was in a coma for a long period of time.  Till this day he is still unable to walk, unable to speak normally, and he still has permanent brain damage.  Bob learned about his situation and found out that he's the favorite player of my relative.  When Bob was home in Erie he went and visited him, brought him a jersey, and spent a little of his time with him.  A year later he flew him and his entire family in a private flight out to Indianapolis for a game.  Was this publicized in the Erie Times-News? No.  Probably because Bob didn't want it publicized.

Just because an athlete acts like they're controlling the media and not providing all the answers that a columnist wants doesn't mean they're a bad person, it could just mean that they want to focus on who's receiving the goodwill, not who's providing it.

John Dudley ended his fit by stating that he'd probably be able to get over Bob not talking to him, but there's someone who may not.  He wrote,

"I'll get over it, I suppose.

But there's someone else who might end up reading this, too -- my 12-year-old son. He became a big Colts fan after watching Sanders go through workouts at the team's training camp a few years ago when the paper had me drive to Terre Haute, Ind., to cover his rise to stardom.

Like a lot of kids, my son instantly was swept up in Sanders' energy, his focus, and his passion for the game.

It's going to be tough to resist the urge to go into his closet this morning and take out that No. 21 Colts jersey and slap it on eBay, knowing that someone, somewhere, probably needs to line a birdcage."

Great role model for your son there John, way to stay classy. I hope his son reads his column, but I hope he reads mine too.

Sometimes what's portrayed by one individual isn't the same as what's portrayed by another. Mr. Dudley can continue to hold a grudge against Sanders because Sanders won't give to him like he does to others, but make your own decision on Bob, don't read either of our columns and think you know the real individual.

I hope John Dudley didn't sell his son's Sanders jersey on eBay or use it in a birdcage. Everyone knows that newspapers are a much easier cleanup