You never know how long you’ll be in the NFL, right?
After last night’s 30-27 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Tashard Choice, a backup running back for the Dallas Cowboys, ran over to Michael Vick, pulled out a pen, and had Vick autograph his one of his gloves.
Some Dallas fans are outraged. Tashard Choice is just another example of how the NFL has changed—for the worse.
The NFL is full of pansies. Back in my day, you hated everyone on the other team. You didn’t talk, and you wiped your butt with your hand before the post-game handshake. And don’t get me started on these new concussion rules. Concussion? If your vision was blurry and your ears started bleeding—goddamn—that meant you played a good game.
I don’t really see the problem here. It’s a game—as reticent as we are to admit it. Vick and Choice know each other off the field. Choice got the autograph for his two-year-old nephew (who’s apparently cognitive enough to know who his favorite football player is).
The game was over. Would there have been a problem if he did it after the Cowboys won? If Choice went up to Vick at halftime, that would be a different story.
But I tend to side with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King here:
I think that was a little creepy, Tashard Choice, running up to Michael Vick after a loss, Sharpie in hard, and having him autograph your glove.
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He couldn’t have waited until after they got changed or something? Maybe met outside the visiting locker room? And where did he get the sharpie? Was it in his sock all game?
Sure, Choice could’ve handled it better, but for as strange as this was, he really didn’t do anything wrong.
The backlash would’ve been a lot less severe had the Cowboys come out on top.
As a rabid fan, I’d be pissed if one of my player’s top priorities after an important division loss was to run up to the opposing QB to get an autograph. Tashard Choice is a professional football player. He could easily have one of the team’s assistants reach out to the Eagles for a Vick autograph and have it sent to him. It didn’t have to be — and shouldn’t have been — done on camera just seconds after a tough loss.