The Strange Case Of Barrett Robbins
Crazy things are going on with the Raiders. All-Pro center Barrett Robbins missed the Super Bowl due to an unspecified medical problem. There has been a great deal of speculation, ranging from Depression, alcohol poisoning in Tijuana, and worse. Robbins is said to be on a suicide watch in a San Diego hospital as of today. This link from ESPN is well worth reading, if you want a troubling glimpse behind the scenes of what can go on in professional sports.
What I find more interesting is the sidebar story about Rich Gannon refusing to play two years ago in a preseason game because he heard multiple linemen talking about how much they partied the night before. Yeah, if I was a quarterback, I would be troubled to hear my linemen having a conversation like that in the lockerroom before a game.
Take it a step further. In another ESPN story on Robbins, fellow lineman Frank Middleton was asked why Robbins wasn't benched earlier in the season, when it became clear that he was having serious problems. Middleton's response? "Too much money." Robbins was making too much money to be benched, a decree that came right from Al Davis himself.
Why is this interesting? All last fall, former Raider defensive end Pat Toomay wrote a series for ESPN's Page 2 about what it was like to play for the Raiders in the mid and late 70's. He wrote about John Madden, Ken Stabler, John Matuszak, and Al Davis in revealing detail. One of the overriding themes was the way Davis runs the team, how it is very different from any other team Toomay has been around. He described an event in the 1977 AFC Championship game between the Raiders and the Broncos, when the insane John Matuszak got REAL messed up on booze and Quaaludes (So seventies...). When approached with this issue, Al Davis insisted that Matuszak play. Sitting "Tooz" would be a major PR hit.
And here we are, in 2003, and it looks like Al Davis still has the same shenanigans happening in his lockerrooms.
Let's hope Barrett Robbins gets the help he needs.
12:38:16 PM 
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