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Calvin Johnson
Calvin Johnson will be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame next month, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that the catcher won’t have much to say about his old team, the Los Detroit Lions.
By now, fans were hoping Johnson had made his peace with the team. It hasn’t happened yet, so Johnson may not mention his team by name during his Hall of Fame induction speech.
Johnson spoke to the media ahead of the induction ceremony and dropped a not entirely unexpected bombshell in an article by Clark Judge of the Talk of Fame show. According to what he said, will not make an effort to recognize the Lions over the weekend.
Johnson explained in Judge’s article:
“Of course I’m going to thank a lot of people,” he said. “There are many people who have had a great impact on me during my career, and I will try (to thank)… at least they are in my heart. But I won’t mention all of them. As for the Lions, well, I have nothing to say.
(Barry) Sanders didn’t do it either when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in August 2004. He thanked the Lions fans. He thanked the city of Detroit. He thanked his teammates and his coach, Wayne Fontes. But he didn’t say anything about the team itself, although they did eventually iron out the rough edges.
Johnson isn’t ready for that yet, and it looks like he’ll do the same as Sanders in his Canton speech. And while that’s awkward – especially with members of the franchise present, like President Rod Wood – it doesn’t worry him.
“I’m sure I’m going to cross it,” he said of Wood. “But you already know me. I’ll be quick. I will go my way. I take care of my business.
“I’ll put it this way:“ I won’t see my family much this weekend, so I’ll try to see them whenever I can. So if I run into Rod Wood, I’ll be on my way. “
Johnson will be in Canton, Ohio, during the week of August 8 to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. As is customary, incoming players will give a speech. On many occasions, the teams they have played for are highly mentioned. In the case of the Lions, that does not always happen due to the unstable relationship they have had with their star players.
It’s a shame they haven’t been able to resolve their differences before the weekend, and it looks like that won’t change. While everyone knows which team he will represent upon induction, it is clear that he will make no mention of that.
Johnson recently admitted that he wants to solve his problems with the Lions
It seems like it’s all up to the Lions, and it’s been that way for a while. Johnson was with Woodward Sports along with his former teammate Rob Sims about a month ago, and one of the most interesting things he said was that Detroit did not want to transfer him to another team nor did they want to terminate his contract prior to his retirement, and that. fueled his frustration with the team.
He said: “In the end, when I retired to leave the team, we asked if they could terminate my contract and if they would let me go to another team, but they said no. I still have no connection with the Lions. I wish I could figure things out. But I’m not here for that. I came to support the players. That’s what all this is about”.
It is very interesting that the team did not grant Johnson his wish, a fact that reflects what happened to Sanders when he wanted to leave the Lions. Things have changed in the team since the new owner, Sheila Ford Hamp, took over the team, and that was reflected when they transferred to Matthew Stafford. That has favored Stafford to praise to the top team managers multiple times.
Maybe the team can correct things with Johnson after he is inducted into the Hall of Fame. At this point, it is clear that none of that will happen before that event.
The Lions’ chief executives thought their relationship with Johnson was improving.
Last February, when it was announced that Johnson had been inducted into the Hall of Fame, the catcher admitted that at least he had communication with the Lions, and that both parties were trying to reach an agreement. After that, Rod Wood confirmed that things were progressing.
Wood spoke to the media at the time, explaining that the Lions and Johnson were trying to make amends, and that the team was planning some celebrations with Johnson for the next several months.
Johnson will be inducted into the Hall of Fame soon, and it is clear that by then the Lions will be in contact with him so they can celebrate the event accordingly. It’s good to know that the team is still committed to working things out with Johnson for the long term. The hope is for them to be honest about fixing things.
But that won’t happen fast enough to get Johnson to speak fondly about the Lions in Canton.
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This is the original version of Heavy.com by Max DeMara
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