Enough already! Enough of the Casey Printers bashing, it really is getting old. His agent, Jason Medlock, in an interview with TSN's Farhan Lahji on March 19th could only shake his head and wonder how the perception of this young man has spiraled so far out of control in the last 48 months, when he questioned aloud in the interview, "How does a player fall from grace that fast?" He went on to say, "the GM's in the league know what he can do." Maybe it is time to break down those last few years and take a close look at just what Printers has done to deserve the criticism, if in fact he has done anything at all.
1) After being named the CFL's Most Outstanding player in 2004, Printers was criticized for being unhappy after getting benched in the Grey Cup that same year, when the BC Lions lost to Toronto in Ottawa.
-Analysis: Wouldn't you be! In his second year in the league, the TCU grad passed for over 5,000 yards to lead the Lions to the Grey Cup and did it in dramatic fashion, only to be told he had to watch the biggest game of the year from the sideline. A decision that, with all due respect to the soon to be winningest coach in league history, Wally Buono, still goes down as one of the great head scratchers of all time.
2) After signing a million dollar plus contract in Kansas City, Printers was condemned for the way he handled being released. The entire process was recorded on camera for a television documentary.
-Analysis: Anyone who has ever been fired knows just how tough it is, now try and imagine going through it in front of a TV audience. Much worse is, and will be said behind close doors when a player is being told he is no longer on the team, the fact that something like that made it to air was the real issue.
3) When returning to the CFL, Printers found himself in the middle of a bidding war between a few teams eager to build their squad around the former Outstanding Player. After Hamilton made him the highest paid player in the league, he was mocked for being over confident in interviews upon his arrival in the Steel City.
-Analysis: Printers was told by the management in Hamilton at the time that it was his team, not just for the present but also for the future. He was asked to immediately take a leadership role in the room, to take the, "bull by the horns," so to speak. While many have questioned how he went about that, none would argue that he didn't try. Interesting though, that when it all started going bad again in Hamilton, not many from management stepped up to the mic and said they were the ones who, in not so many words, asked him to be the guy making the big motivational speeches to the team before games. And while the future looks a lot brighter for the Tabbies of late, let's not forget that Hamilton's challenges on the field, as a team, have run deep for some time now. Even the future hall of famer, Danny McManus struggled at times with the Ticats.
4) And finally, the latest criticism directed towards Casey Printers has been that he is a cancer in the locker room.
-Analysis: An interesting accusation in that I can only remember one player who actually put his name to a derogatory comment with regards to Printers the teammate, and that was Rob Murphy who now plays in Toronto. I will not take sides in a Murphy/Printers argument, and I applaud Murphy for his accountability. If you are going to say something controversial about someone put your name behind it. I would also add, however, that at the time of the comments, Murphy and Printers had never met. Also, if there are former teammates of Printers who are secretly whispering in a reporters ear, rumors about anyone who they sat beside in a locker room and went to war with, then those players should likely look in the mirror when accusing someone of being a bad teammate. Remember what they say about pointing your finger at someone, when you do, you have three pointing right back at yourself.
So what has Printers really done to become such a "problem child." He hasn't broken the law, shown any cruelty to animals, or shot himself in a public place. He hasn't been rude to the media, snubbed a kid looking for an autograph, or ever skipped a team organized public relations event. He has been confident in his abilities which some may say, comes across as being arrogant. However; for a pro athlete, and especially a quarterback in football, if confidence bordering on arrogance is wrong, than there is not a quarterback in the game, that is right. Printers, is a tremendous athlete, he has shown he can take a team to the Cup and he has a lot of years ahead of him. He is 27 years old, which in the world of sports today is a child, but by no means is Casey Printers, "a problem child."