There is one thing that is bugging me since Sunday.  Not the fact that former and current NFL players have been criticizing Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s toughness or lack there of in the NFC Championship game.  Rather, that some are beginning to back track from their comments or tweets in some cases.

I will first preface by saying that I don’t care if Jay Cutler could have played or not.  That was the team’s decision and they have to live with it.  Cutler didn’t do himself any favors with his posture on the sidelines as every player should know that TV cameras will be rolling and you have to be careful.  Just ask Arizona Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson about the cameras always rolling.

With that said what’s troubling me is what was said by some players during the game.  Not what they said so much, but rather that they didn’t mean it.

Twitter has its upsides and its downsides.  Fans can communicate with people they adore, idolize or respect on a daily basis.  The one downside of course is that what you say on twitter goes viral in an instant and it can’t be taken back.  Sure you can delete it, but it’s already there.  Plus with the limit of 140 characters, it’s hard to get your full point across in the context it was intended to be in.

Maurice Jones-Drew, running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars, tweeted; “Hey I think the urban meyer rule is effect right now… When the going gets tough……..QUIT..”


He then followed that tweet with this one; “All I’m saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee… I played the whole season on one…”


Maurice clarified the following days that the tweet about Urban Meyer was a joke directed at Florida fans and it was taken out of context.  Now I’m willing to hear his explanation to which he said it was never meant to demean Jay Cutler in anyway.  That’s fine.  It sure didn’t sound that way with the second tweet.  By the way.  In reference to that knee injury of Maurice’s, he didn’t play the whole season.  He missed the final two games due to said knee injury.


Darnell Dockett, defensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals, also opined on twitter.  Here’s what he tweeted; “If I’m on chicago team jay cutler has to wait till me and the team shower get dressed and leave before he comes in the locker room!#FACT“


Now Darnell’s is a little different.  He responded a couple times on twitter saying he never was questioning Jay Cutler’s knee injury.  In essence he was saying what we were all thinking.  In a big game like that where a spot in the Super Bowl is on the line, you don’t want to be taken out no matter what.  


Credit to Darnell and Maurice for not deleting those tweets like so many others have done before when they tweeted something that drew a negative light on them.  It’s troubling that in this day and age someone can be scrutinized for simply speaking their mind.  


Now I will say that anyone inciting violence or anything to that nature is just plain stupid and has no part of the discussion.  Freedom to speak is the first amendment of the United States Constitution.  Continue to use it and by all means back it up.  If you do retract from it, don’t say someone took it out of context.  I’m sick and tired of being told that.  If you didn’t mean for it to be said than say you’re sorry and lets move on.  


We know there are two sides to every story.  Just as there are two sides to this one.  We can decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.  Don’t say something you mean one day only to say it wasn’t what I meant it to be the next.  The sooner we can do that, the sooner we can stop blaming others for what we meant to say.  Only you can make that call.