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GM Savage wrong to put anger in e-mail
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published on Friday, Nov 21, 2008
BEREA: Some things are inexplicable.
The Big Bang Theory would be one; Dancing With the Stars is another.
Now we have an NFL general manager using an implied expletive to a fan in an e-mail.
Worse, it was our general manager, the guy who runs the Browns.
Phil Savage responded to some harsh and nasty words from a fan during the win over the Buffalo Bills by advising the fan to root for Buffalo. Savage then ended with an implied expletive, though he used symbols and did not spell the word.
No matter, the point was clear.
''It happened,'' Savage said in a quote provided by Browns spokesman Bill Bonsiewicz. ''We have both apologized to each other since. Browns fans have overwhelmingly been positive towards me since 2005, and I appreciate that greatly.''
And we appreciate his appreciation.
But this kind of thing ranks way up there on the embarrassing scale and simply should not happen.
Such words should not be directed to a fan from the front office of a professional football team, much less the guy running the front office.
One assumes Savage understands that fact.
Let's also be honest and say that there's no doubt fans can say some mean and nasty things. Media, too, for that matter.
Surely everyone who works for a professional team has at one time or another thought the words Savage wrote.
Nobody can blame them. They work hard, try to win and do what they believe is best. Then they hear how terrible they are from some nameless, faceless person — and they hear it several times like Savage did from this guy during the Bills game. So they get mad.
The anger is understandable.
But putting the anger in print and then e-mailing it is quite another thing entirely. Think about it this way — if a player says it or gestures it coming off the field, he gets fined. This time a GM did it.
It just can't happen.
When this story first broke on the Internet site deadspin.com, it seemed like a joke, or like someone grabbed Savage's Blackberry and typed it for him.
Savage is not the kind of guy to use expletives.
The fact that Savage would pay attention to e-mails during Monday night games that go down to the wire is odd in itself. Why check all these e-mails in the first place, especially during a game?
According to Deadspin — a site that takes a very irreverent look at sports — Savage responded at 12:17 a.m., which means after the game. Which means he had time to think before he sent it.
The guy who sent the e-mail actually went on WKNR Thursday morning and said his nasty e-mails ''warranted'' Savage's response.
He also said he had e-mailed Savage to apologize.
Which is typical. People get emotional, they vent and then they realize they went overboard.
But his e-mails somehow wound up on the Internet after the apology, which is also inexplicable. Just like him not using his real name — he called himself ''Brett'' — is pretty ridiculous.
Whatever.
A GM has to be above the fray when it comes to irate fans. He has enough on his plate without getting into this stuff. If he's going to have a public e-mail address, he'll hear from all kinds of people.
One response is to kill the person with kindness.
Another is to delete the stupid thing and be happy about a win.
Browns coach Romeo Crennel addressed the matter Thursday morning before Savage released his statement. Crennel said that everyone gets frustrated, and that they all try to be professional and hold the frustration in.
''But sometimes things slip out,'' he said.
Crennel said he talked with Savage, and Savage felt bad about doing it.
If it sounds odd that the coach was sitting there answering a question about the GM using a bad word to a fan, well, it's probably because it is odd.
But at this point, Crennel is the grandfatherly voice of reason from the football end of this team, and thank goodness for that.
At other times this season, he has had to be the voice for decisions and actions made by others. Like in the Kellen Winslow staph infection/fiasco.
During that time period, Savage went on his weekly WTAM radio appearance and listed about a dozen components of his job, concluding with: ''Now that's a big job.''
He never mentioned e-mailing implied obscenities to badgering and belligerent fans as part of the job description, though.
Yes it's easy to make jokes and be sarcastic, because we all make mistakes. United States Senators have been known to swear at each other, too.
But if I'm Browns owner Randy Lerner, I'd be having a long sitdown with Savage after the season.
One of the first things I might ask is: What the heck were you thinking?
But I'd also make sure at some point that I have an answer to another question: Are you sure you can handle all the pressures and responsibilities of this job?
Because this kind of stuff just shouldn't happen.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
BEREA: Some things are inexplicable.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Posted 07:39 AM, 11/21/2008
So he's human -- what's the big deal? Politicians have done much stupider things than that, as we all know so well!! Savage may not be the greatest GM in the league, but he certainly isn't the worst, either. And I can testify so some of the remarks that fly around on this page from fans who it seems can hardly put a sentence together, and feel it is their responsibility to be nasty hatemongers, with all sorts of inappropriate language and innuendos. Get a life!
Akron, OH
Posted 09:37 AM, 11/21/2008
exactly, who cares? Also, if you win games, problems like this don't exist... I like Savage and Crennel, but something has to change. I hope they can figure it out "next year"!
Stow, OH
Posted 10:37 AM, 11/21/2008
Even though this seems trivial to us ,Savage could have done without the negative press on his resume.Everyone assumes Lerner isn't paying attention ,but I can assure you he his,and when it comes time for a change......
Stow, OH
Posted 10:42 AM, 11/21/2008
???
Posted 11:00 AM, 11/21/2008
It just goes to show that Phil, like many posting about Browns' football, can't completely and correctly spell even the simplest of words.
Akron, OH
Posted 11:28 AM, 11/21/2008
This is the dumbest story ever. It shouldn't even be considered news.
Posted 11:36 AM, 11/21/2008
The question should be What is the answer to the Harrison Question...He can't tell us who is going to be fired and I know of no one who cares that he said a dirty word in an e-mail
Posted 04:09 PM, 11/21/2008
I agree with AllyV80 here: this is not a @%#$ news story. There's nothing illegal about using "implied expletives," and the guy Phil sent that to probably had it coming, based on what I've seen fans do up at that stadium. All this is just another set of jingle-keys to keep everyone distracted from the major changes that need to take place up there on the lake, if the Browns are to become real contenders.
Posted 04:36 PM, 11/21/2008
Could not get my comment on your first and ten. Why? I don't know.
Anyway, being a Christian and having a strong religious foundation do not
preclude anger. I have a strong rel. foundation and I have done much worse
many, many times. Yes, GM's should behave more professionally than Savage has a couple of times this year, but this has been one big emotional year for Browns players, coaches, GM, fans.
And you media types feed off all of that. You love it. You must, Pat. You are always on it.
I am old and I still rant and rave and say rotten things when I watch the Browns lose. But I do not feel the urge to call for Savage to get canned. He is a good GM who has made a couple of
PR blunders this year. He will learn from it and become a better GM each year. Just like you,
Pat. You have learned a lot in the last few years and are becoming a better sports writer.
Maybe you will even learn that the junk you often spew out is boring. I read it and then wonder
why I even bother. Ok, I will not read your junk stuff anymore. Man, do I feel better.
Posted 10:03 AM, 11/22/2008
It goes to show that there is little of interest to report on the Browns this season. Phil sending an angry e-mail after being repeatedly harassed, is not something that the owner of the Brown's has to "sit down with him after the season" and discuss. Come on Patrick, are you serious? How about they sit down and talk about Romeo, the defense, and the lack of effort at times from the O line? Your column today was very poor journalism. Men like Mr Savage and Mr Lerner do not need to be scolded by a second rate sports writer from an average, small town newspaper. Jeez!
Posted 09:39 PM, 11/22/2008
Big deal! Both sides apologized and that should be all people need to know. It just shows me that Phil Savage is human and makes mistakes just like everyone else. The fan was wrong, Savage was wrong, (I guess) but probably frustrated but that's the end of the story. All I have to say is go Browns!
