Ngày đăng: 01/11/2013 | Lượt xem: 1093

Watkins adept at catching flak

ORCHARD PARK In today’s world of social media, it’s common for professional athletes to brand themselves using personalized websites linked with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and whatever other “gram,” “chat” and “ing” they can think of.Conversely and just as easily, professional athletes can stick their cleat, sneaker and skate into their mouths with regrettable postings. Teams and coaches provide steady counseling for players, who represent more than themselves, to think twice or three,Cheap Jerseys china four and five times before hitting “send.”Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who isn’t catching many passes this season but is catching plenty of flak, will either be cheered or booed by fans at The Ralph following his recent venture down the rabbit hole of boneheaded social media rants, taking on the very fans who feed him.I hope it’s the former, because the Bills desperately need their second year star to snap out of his seismic sophomore slump. Furthermore, Watkins, 22, did make a sincere apology, meaning he was mature enough to throw water on a fire of his own making. It’s a good start for a player who before this was whining about getting his “touches,” right before getting hurt again.ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLESammy Watkins speaks out about role in offenseWith any luck for Watkins and the Bills, he has learned a valuable lesson, has turned a corner, and can start producing like a player who cost the Bills not one, but two, first round draft choices.In the constantly updating history of “I wish I didn’t do that,” Watkins sure added a doozy.While at Disney World during the Bills’ bye week, Watkins posted a photo of himself and his daughter on Instagram. Innocent and heartwarming, right? Right up until the comments streamed in, none suggesting “Sammy, be sure to check out Space Mountain.”These comments questioned why Watkins was walking around an amusement park instead of resting and rehabilitating the calf and ankle injuries that have sidelined him three of the past four games, limiting him to 11 catches all year. They questioned his durability.That’s when Watkins’ fingers began typing faster than his legs usually move.”You guys y’all mad and I’m not,” he posted. “Get a life, go to work and stop worrying about my job. Because I’m good on this end.” He proceeded to reference those taunting him as “losers” and added, “Most of you just wish to be in this position. So continue working y’all little jobs for the rest of y’all lives.’Sammy Watkins sounds off on fans questioning his injuries. He has since deleted the comment. Bills fans with Internet muscles do need a life.But as any celebrity knows when electing to engage the trolls, there’s no winning. The next day Watkins deleted the post, apologized, and called his comments “inappropriate.” He made his Instagram account private, although 318,000 followers can still view his photos and musings.When the Bills got back to work last week, Watkins, to his credit, didn’t run a down and out of the locker room when reporters approached. He couldn’t have handled things better.”I just read back my comments like, ‘Nah, that don’t sound right,’ ” Watkins said. “I shouldn’t have sent that because it not only affected the fans, just people in general that are working hard jobs every day, day to day, taking care of their kids, every job is the same. You wake up in the morning and go to work, clock the eight hours, so my job is the same as anybody else.”Well, anybody else with a contract that pays $20 million in guaranteed salary.Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins (14) has just 11 catches and two TDs through seven games. He has caught more flak for his comments than footballs. 14 jerseys and pay those cable and satellite bills that feed the NFL’s $6 billion a year business.”I knew what I was doing taking a shot, but it’s something I shouldn’t have (done) as a football player and a professional,” Watkins said. “It wasn’t professional. I’ll learn from it.”At least Watkins recognized how truly disheartening his comments were. At least he understood that wearing a uniform means it’s not just about him. Some never get that one.”That’s things that I can’t do as an athlete in the NFL,” Watkins said. “I represent the organization, the team. So I would just say sorry to all the fans who took heart to it, and I will never do it again.”What fans hope Sammy Watkins does do again is catch passes, lots of them, and he jump starts a team stalled in the merging lane of the NFL highway with a 3 4 record. Because catching passes is a lot better than catching flak.d.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0].appendChild(s);