All of this goes back to what I have maintained for years.

 

A fan can spout off about a play or series or a game or a season at any point, without watching any film or ever playing the game, and it's fine because it's within his rights as a fan.

 

A media hack can spout off about the same things with the same lack of information, and he's being an objective journalist.

 

A coach can spout off about the same things with a lot more information, and it's his right because he is a coach and he can call them as he sees them.

 

But the people who study film, who know the game plan, and who actually implement the game plan on the field...those who actually impact what happens on those plays, in those series, in those games, and throughout those seasons are precluded from saying anything, lest they be labeled as "jerks" etc.

 

Players are public figures, not public property. But people effectively censor them as if they were.

 

Considering they are the ones good enough to play, considering they are the ones putting their bodies and reputations on the line, considering they know what is said and done on the field between two players, they should be the last ones silenced.

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