At a time when we’re “celebrating” the annual All-Turd Team, Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com has offered up some fresh quotes from Bucs running back Warrick Dunn, who is the textbook definition of the Anti-Turd.
One of Dunn’s key attributes is humility. “Please don’t portray me as some sort of perfect person,” Dunn told Freeman. “I hate that. I’m not perfect.”
Dunn told Freeman that he has noticed a change in NFL players during his eleven years in the game. “When I came in, my generation was different,” he said. “We respected the guys who came before us. I learned about the guys who paved the way. Now you have a lot of young guys who don’t care about the past. They couldn’t name some of the past great players. They [couldn’t] care less.”
More importantly, Dunn offered up some basic and simple advice to young players, if the young players are inclined to heed them.
“You have to be a true professional. Don’t act like an a-hole. There are too many guys who act like that. I’ve seen too many guys who just want money and power.
“Some of these guys don’t embrace a strong work ethic. I played with Trent Dilfer. He won’t go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever but he worked his tail off. Not a lot of young players have that kind of attitude.”
The logic is simple — guys who are focused on what they’re doing professionally generally don’t have the time or the desire to get into trouble.
Then there’s a little thing call the Golden Rule.
“I treated people the same way I’d want to be treated,” Dunn told Freeman. “I have my faults. I’ve made my share of mistakes but I’ve always tried to live right.”
Live right he has. If every player behaved like Dunn, we’d ultimately need four digits on the “Days Without An Arrest” meter.
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July 1st, 2008 at 8:08 am
Thank god there are still good examples to point towards, when teaching your kids lesson about life. Thanks Warrick!
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 10 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 8:28 am
Not only is Warrick a credit to the NFL, but he is a credit to the human race as well. I am sure that his Mom would be especially proud of him, and what better tribute to her memory than what Warrick has done and been in his life. Kudos to you Warrick.
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Rating: 4.45 / 5 with 9 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 8:50 am
If every player behaved like Dunn, there would ultimately be no need for the “Days Without An Arrest” meter; four digits would be irrelevant .
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Rating: 4.65 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 8:50 am
I like Warrick Dunn, but the “the new players today don’t have any respect for the game” is a line that gets written by every generation in sports. It is a bunch of bullsh!t.
20-25 years ago Tim Raines was sliding headfirst to avoid breaking his coke vials. Lyndon “Nuke” LaRosche was held up as the archetype whippersnapper who didn’t respect his game in Bull Durham. The ‘84 Bears’ style was called disrespectful. Lawrence Taylor was snorting blow off of hookers’ asses. Chuck Munchie and Don Reese were setting Olympic freebasing records. There are good guys and bad guys in all sports in all generations. Some know the old time players, some don’t.
That is the one thing that will never change.
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Rating: 2.85 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 8:55 am
Barrack do a lot worse than Warrick Dunn in looking for a running mate…
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Rating: 2.6 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 9:24 am
I’m a Warrick fan, he’s a good dude.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 9:46 am
Florio has a serious hoagie in his pants for Mr. Dunn.
Honestly this is a great story and all, and Warrick Dunn , a great guy, but I feel like I’m reading the Dunn Fan United website sometimes.
ah whatever, it beats stories about arrests and Favre.
By the way, is #4 still palying these days?
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Rating: 1.7 / 5 with 11 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 9:50 am
“Obviously Dunn has never sprayed champagne into a crowd and then made it rain money. Because acting like an A-hole is fun!”
-Adam Jones
Seriously tho, Warrick is a class act.
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Rating: 4.85 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 10:04 am
The past was NOT like this. There were one or two bad guys, but nothing like this. T.O. used to be the exception. Now he’s the rule. A coach is out of line for asking his subordinates to DO WHAT THEY’RE TOLD!
This is not a better, nor a tougher NFL. Choosing a flashy, selfish player like T.O. over a brilliant, proven coach like Bill Parcells has left the Cowboys with lots of freedom and happiness. But no TOUGHNESS. They’re roll over the East, and then lose at home AGAIN in the playoffs. I’d rather have Parcells, some dignity, and some playoff wins - but that’s not as important as being all over TMZ.com, apparently.
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Rating: 4.2 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 10:51 am
keep the good news coming, Florio! thanks, man.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 11:24 am
Always loved Warrick, ALways will.
There are a ton of guys who do great work and the vast majority live good lives. Maybe NFLN could look into doing a weekly show on guys achieving off the field. Just too much negatives being focused on by the Media and blogs.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 11:55 am
Standing Ovation For Mr. Dunn!!!
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 11:59 am
Dunn is right. The new generation isnt like the past.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Backonthestreet,
How old are you? I don’t say that out of maliciousness, but just to suggest you may not have the right perspective (Florio should know better though)
I remember reading a Sports Illustrated article in the Early 80s talking about the decline of the Raiders after they moved to LA. They said that the players were now getting Manicures. Marc Gastineau had his sack dance. Darrell Fullington had his Uzi machine guns in his trunk. Herschel Walker was bobsledding. And coaches were all complaining about the in-the-grasp rule and saying the QBs were being overly protected.
There was a psychological profile of all the different positions created by the Chargers in the early 70s. In it it talked about how ego-centric and preening that WRs are/were.
You can go back through history. Pick up some old player profiles in any decade and you can read older players lamenting how the younger guys don’t appreciate the game and don’t respect the vets. Remember, the same Keyshawn Johnson who talks about how important it is that players play for the team is the same one who wrote a book after his rookie year and got sent home as a seasoned veteran.
It is just the same stuff. Rest assured, when Randy Moss and Terrell Owens are inducted into the Hall of Fame, they will talk about thier love of the game and how much respect they have for the men that came before them and how they hope the then-current generation of players understand how priveledged they are.
And if you think about it, the result is logical. Do any of us really appreciate what we are doing or the fortune of our circumstances when we first arrive? Perhaps, but as time goes on, perspective grows and most of us become more thankful and appreciative of what we get and what we have. Why would NFL players be any different?
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Rating: 4.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 12:24 pm
OH, one more -
Players/Teams who got their coaches fired:
Magic Johnson - Paul Westphal
Michael Jordan - Doug Collins
The Jaguars and Tom Coughlin
The Giants and Jim Fassel
The Vikings and Les Steckel
And so many more…
If you think Bill Parcells is the first guy to walk away because he “didn’t want to coach THAT guy” you are mistaken.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Vikingsfan23,
Although I don’t think it has much to do with this argument, I’m 27 years old. I’ve watched (and read) as much football as anyone I know. And I know that some people have an unreal memory that the past was better than it was. And I know that ther were always bad eggs. The problem, now, is that there are way more assholes than good guys. The bad guys run the show now.
What T.O. did to the 49ers - calling out the coach, calling out Jeff Garcia, and saying that he was gay…do you think that would have stood in a 49er locker room in the 1980s? Do you all think that Jerry Rice could have gotten away with calling Joe Montana a homosexual?
If you do, you’re way different than me. Because I think that the entire locker room would have kicked the **** out of him. Now, T.O. gets his way, every time. He pulled the same exact crap with McNabb, and some people actually thought that it was McNabb’s fault that T.O. was insulting him…because McNabb didn’t say or do the right things to kiss T.O.’s ass.
Screw that. Employees used to respect their bosses, and if not, they were fired. Maybe I’m just remembering “the good old days” of my youth but I don’t think my memory is that skewed yet.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Warrick is one of the good guys in this league. You CAN’T hate this guy.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I don’t think the bad guys run the show - it’s just that they get the publicity. But they always have. Lyle Alzado got all the press and he was a borderline felon. The good guys do outnumber the bad guys in reality.
But you could also remember folks like Hollywood Henderson of the Cowboys saying that Terry Bradshaw was so dumb he couldn’t spell CAT if you spotted him the C and the T.
As for what TO would have or wouldn’t have gotten away with on the old 49ers clubs, I don’t have a clue. Those were championship clubs, so he probably would have gotten away with less. But I can say that there were undoubtably locker room spats that never got written up where players were at eachother’s throats, and I am sure teammates called eachother worse things than “homo” in the heat of the moment.
You are going to need to do better than keep throwing out “TO” as proof that today’s players are worse than the ones that Dunn came into the league with (BTW - TO Came into the league a year BEFORE Dunn).
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 1 rating(s)