Before I share my opinion on the Stevie Johnson "scandal" (which, I admit, is fairly pointless – the world has much bigger problems), please ask yourself a question:
On Sunday, did you defend Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson's actions and also criticize Jets defensive end (and former Bill) Aaron Maybin for celebrating after his two sacks, as I've witnessed many people do?
If you answered "yes," please dismiss yourself from the debate. You're too much of a Bills homer to objectively discuss the issue at hand.
I'm about to argue against Johnson's actions, but I want to make clear that I generally enjoy touchdown celebrations and trash talking in sports. I agree that the NFL is often the "No Fun League," that touchdown celebrations are often harmless fun for both players and fans, and that across all sports, trash talking is a part of competing and gaining an edge on one's opponent.
Keep in mind, two of the undisputable greatest-ever at their sports – Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali – were also two of the most notorious trash-talkers of all time.
One of my favorite sports stories involves Scottie Pippen, Jordan's Chicago Bulls teammate, telling Karl "The Mailman" Malone during an important Sunday game that "the mailman doesn't deliver on Sunday." Malone then missed two huge free throws to seal a victory for Chicago.
How can I defend these athletes and attack Johnson? Because Jordan, Ali, and other trash-talking greats backed up their words with clutch performances. Johnson, on the other hand, has now twice dropped potential game-winning footballs in the final minutes of Bills games. (At least Johnson didn't weirdly tweet at God after his latest drop.)
When a player engages in flamboyant behavior like trash talk and touchdown celebrations (especially when they result in 15-yard penalty flags that contribute to the opposition's success), he opens himself up to public criticism. If he delivers in the clutch, fans will appreciate it; if not, they just have one more reason to dislike the athlete. Johnson should understand that.
Johnson's supporters will likely point out that other than the penalty and the drop on Sunday, Johnson had a great game against Darrelle Revis, probably the league's best cornerback. But it's his own fault – and nobody else's – that we aren't talking about it.
He did have a great game, other than the drop and the penalty. But the key words in the previous sentence were "other than the drop and the penalty."
Don't get me wrong – Johnson did not singlehandedly lose the game for the Bills. It is foolish to blame a game of football, the ultimate team sport, on one person.
At the same time, if Johnson didn't take a dumb, selfish penalty and drop a clutch ball that was right in his hands, the Bills might've won.
I'll admit it – I laughed when Johnson's celebration dissed Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress. It was classless, but it was also funny, and as Johnson himself has said, the Jets do a lot of trash talking themselves.
Here's what's getting lost, though: Johnson was not flagged for that. He was flagged for going to the ground during a celebration (which is illegal) when he mocked the Jets' "flying jet" move by simulating a plane crash. (I know that he didn't mean to offend New Yorkers by doing that in New York City, but he also should've known better.)
Johnson, a constant celebrator, should have been aware of the league's rules for celebrating. It may be a dumb rule, but it's a rule, and he should've known it.
We all know the rest: the penalty forces the Bills to try a squib kick because they are backed up to their own 20; the kicker clumsily misses the kick, and the defense ironically allows Burress to get wide-open in the end zone after Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez gets an extremely short field to work with. The touchdown wasn't all Johnson's fault. The kicker and defense also made mistakes.
But those mistakes were football mistakes made while the game was being played, something that happens to all NFL players. Johnson's mistake was a selfish, self-inflicted, unnecessary mistake resulting from a celebration that had nothing to do with football. And then he made a football mistake later in the game, when he dropped a pass that could have redeemed him.
By pairing the selfish mistake with the football mistake, he opened himself up to the accusations of "lack of focus" and "me-first" and "not clutch." You might think that's not fair, but news flash: life isn't fair.
I do think that it's fair, though. Let's not forget that this man makes ridiculous sums of money to play football. He is completely deserving of all the criticism being directed his way. He brought it upon himself.
I have always generally liked Stevie Johnson. He's a great talent, and he's often funny and honest with the media and with fans, which is refreshing. But this is strike two. I already think the "big contract" he's hoping for is in jeopardy, but either way, baseball isn't the only sport where it's three strikes and you're out.
Email: luke.hammill@ubspectrum.com
