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Imo... the economy has alot of people taking pay cuts or losing their jobs.... it happened to him...plain and simple...take the money...or run...
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Dawg Talker
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Quote:
Imo... the economy has alot of people taking pay cuts or losing their jobs.... it happened to him...plain and simple...take the money...or run...
I wish he could still run 
![[Linked Image from i98.photobucket.com]](http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l272/iambrown92/lama.gif) Peace, Love and Football
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Hall of Famer
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LOL !!! thats a good one my dear ! 
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Legend
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Jason Whitlock, FOXSports.com
16 hours ago
Independent, original thought has been made illegal in this country. We’re a nation of sheep, too lazy to think for ourselves, too fearful to stand on truth, too convinced of our own righteousness to consider another man’s perspective.
Our current intellectual climate savaged football legend Jim Brown this week in Cleveland.
Brown and new Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren are at odds. In January, shortly after taking control of the team, Holmgren stripped Brown of his executive advisor title and $500,000 salary and offered the Hall of Fame running back a $100,000 salary and ceremonial role with the club. Brown declined the “job” and left the organization quietly.
Now, seven months later and with the team just a little more than two weeks away from unveiling the Holmgren-inspired “ring of honor,” Jim Brown is tired of being quiet. He’s not coming to the event. And he released a letter he wrote to Holmgren that revealed in shocking detail what the game’s greatest running back thinks of The Big Show.
“Your ultimatum to me,” Brown wrote Holmgren, according to the letter given to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “was that you would offer me the opportunity of being that of the greeter, that of a mascot, that of a person that would represent special events by his physical presence, and for those things, I would receive a salary of $100,000. All of those things that you offered me would be controlled by you.
“After that 10-minute meeting, I went to my office with a feeling that I was just fired by the Cleveland Browns, because in my mind, there would be no way on this earth that you would expect me to go against everything that I’ve ever stood for in my whole life.”
Brown concluded his letter to Holmgren with a racially tinged salvo:
“Mike, there’s only one thing that I control in life, and that’s being a man. So let me end with a little humor, because as you say, one monkey don’t stop the show, and as I say ‘Willie Lynch missed a few of us,’ and there will be no Buck Dancing.” (Holmgren did not in any way insinuate that Brown was a monkey.)
Brown’s letter set off a media firestorm in Cleveland, highlighted by the Plain Dealer’s Grumpy Old (White) Men columnists -- Terry Pluto, Bill Livingston and Bud Shaw -- each taking turns teeing-off on the city’s most celebrated athletic icon.
Pluto played the domestic-violence card against Brown.
Livingston played the Obama-is-president-there-is-no-racism card against Brown.
Shaw played the shut-up-you-have-no-value card against Brown.
Whoa. It’s 1910 at the Plain Dealer. Diversity of perspective means one columnist rubs Holmgren’s feet while another smooches his rear and the last man in provides a gentle-but-firm shoulder massage. Is it really too much to ask that one Cleveland columnist have enough rapport with Jim Brown to try and put his remarks in context? Jim’s been associated with the city since the 1950s.
OK, before I go further, let me offer you some clarifying background.
Jim Brown is a dear friend. He is the professional athlete I respect the most. He’s the same age (74) as my dad, and has the exact same mindset. They’re smart, fearless, proud and self-made. They’d rather go hungry and homeless than accept a handout.
Arrogance caused Mike Holmgren to mishandle his interaction with Jim Brown. Pride caused Brown to lash out at Holmgren in an unfair manner. They owe each other apologies.
I talked with Jim extensively Wednesday afternoon. He loves Cleveland and the Browns. He does not see the rift between himself and the organization as unsalvageable.
“The Browns need to publicly admit they were wrong,” he said.
They do. Holmgren's response to this exposes how little homework he did on Jim Brown: "Jim got back to me as he said he would and informed me he would not be attending the Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor ceremony."
Jim doesn’t do ceremony. He’s not some old-timer looking for one last standing ovation. His time is valuable. Even at his advanced age, he involves himself in real work. He believes -- and I agree -- he adds real value to a football organization. His work with gang members and ex-cons through his Amer-I-Can program keeps him in tune with the culture that influences many of the young men who enter the NFL.
In a 10-minute meeting, Holmgren told the most valuable Cleveland Brown of all time that he had no real value beyond symbolism.
“I have a real connection with the young men on Eric Mangini’s football team,” Brown said Wednesday.
Do I think Holmgren’s actions were motivated by Brown’s race? No. Holmgren, like most successful coaches, is a bully.
Do I understand why Brown processed Holmgren’s actions as racist? Yes. Black men are used to having their intellectual value underestimated or flat-out denied.
Go read what the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote about Jim Brown this week if you need proof. Its opinion-makers think Brown is upset about the money.
“The issue is not money,” Brown told me. “It’s about the dignity of the man. I don’t depend on the Browns for money.”
Jim Brown is no Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton or ambulance-chaser. Brown doesn’t run around indiscriminately shouting racism. He runs around trying to teach black men how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. He’s earned a level of respect, especially in Cleveland. He helped convince Art Modell to leave the colors and team nickname in Cleveland when Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore.
Brown is old and wise and valuable. He should be handled delicately. He was far from the typical professional athlete, and he’s far from the typical former professional athlete. He dominated the game mentally as much as he did physically.
Unlike owner Randy Lerner, Holmgren could effectively tap into and properly channel Brown’s intellect.
I hope Holmgren and Brown both realize their mistakes, swallow their egos and do what’s best for Cleveland. LeBron James abandoned the city. It would be tragic to push out Jim Brown.LINK
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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All Pro
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Bravo. I think Whitlock is right on in this.
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I would have been surprised to read anything else from Jason Whitlock. Bottom line is that Jim Brown was getting half a million per year to be a "greeter" and Holmgren wanted to cut his salary to $100,000. Still pretty good work for a guy Jim Brown's age. Anyone reading anything into this other than a cost cutting move on the club's part needs to look in the mirror and check their motives for complaining. That goes for Whitlock, Brown and anyone else that thinks race had anything to do with this. Guess that makes me a grumpy, old white man, too. So be it........ 
"People who drink light 'beer' don't like the taste of beer; they just like to pee a lot."
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All Pro
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All Pro
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Quote:
I would have been surprised to read anything else from Jason Whitlock.
Bottom line is that Jim Brown was getting half a million per year to be a "greeter" and Holmgren wanted to cut his salary to $100,000. Still pretty good work for a guy Jim Brown's age.
Anyone reading anything into this other than a cost cutting move on the club's part needs to look in the mirror and check their motives for complaining.
That goes for Whitlock, Brown and anyone else that thinks race had anything to do with this.
Guess that makes me a grumpy, old white man, too. So be it........
Whitlock didn't say race had anything to with it, in fact, he said it definitely didn't have anything to do with it.
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Legend
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Legend
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Actually, he did touch on the racism thing. He said he understood that black men are used to people questioning their intelligence (or something like that). That was one of the middle-to-last sections in that last article.
He was correct about something else, though. Jim Brown is no Jesse Jackson. But you know what? Sometimes he sounds like Jesse Jackson. This reporter is trying to rally behind Brown with that letter he wrote to Holmgren, but that letter validates everything Holmgren did (firing/demoting Brown). Somebody who will send a letter like that, with that type of vocabulary, should not be associated at such a high level with any type of business entity (especially one that's so closely monitored by media). Brown is quickly developing a reputation for these types of outbursts.
The real shame is that Brown does hold value for the Browns organization in numerous different ways. His mouth just keeps getting in the way.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
-PrplPplEater
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Sorry, bud, but with Whitlock it always gets back to race.
Sometimes he tries to downplay it as he did in this article but it's there.
Just as it was in Jim Brown's letter.
I'm sure both Whitlock and Brown have experienced racism firsthand. This just isn't one of those times. No matter how much either one wants it to be.
"People who drink light 'beer' don't like the taste of beer; they just like to pee a lot."
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Legend
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Legend
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Whitlock is an idiot... Quote:
Jim Brown is a dear friend. He is the professional athlete I respect the most. He’s the same age (74) as my dad, and has the exact same mindset. They’re smart, fearless, proud and self-made. They’d rather go hungry and homeless than accept a handout.
Yeah,, Whitlock isn't bias at all is he?
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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I generally don't have a problem with Whitlock but that glowing endorsement of Jim Brown that ignores all of his faults is a bit much.
Have y'all noticed that in none of the pieces defending Jim Brown does anybody ever really address what function he fills for the team? Whitlock talks about his intellect and how the Browns should use it... use it to do what? If he has a great rapport with the players and it helps connect the current players to the past and Browns history then that is great... but nobody has come up with a single example of something that Jim Brown has done or suggested that has made the Browns a better team or a better organization... one would think that if there were examples out there, that somebody would write about them... maybe..
yebat' Putin
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I just went through his letter to MH and this is what I took from it...
The last of it was a flaming racist rant but that's always been Browns chip on his shoulder.
I counted 46 times he used "I", 10 times he used "Me" and 17 times he used "My".
This dude is a complete narcissist.
#GMSTRONG
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Legend
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Legend
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Quote:
I generally don't have a problem with Whitlock but that glowing endorsement of Jim Brown that ignores all of his faults is a bit much.
Have y'all noticed that in none of the pieces defending Jim Brown does anybody ever really address what function he fills for the team? Whitlock talks about his intellect and how the Browns should use it... use it to do what? If he has a great rapport with the players and it helps connect the current players to the past and Browns history then that is great... but nobody has come up with a single example of something that Jim Brown has done or suggested that has made the Browns a better team or a better organization... one would think that if there were examples out there, that somebody would write about them... maybe..
We have heard from player interviews, how impressive Brown is when he speaks to the rookies. But I wonder, what is he filling thier heads with? Or are they being kind to an old man?
You would think that if he had that big a positive impact on the team, that he wouldn't have been fired (his words).
To be honest, I get the feeling that part of Randy Lerners issues have been caused by where he gets advice.
I think he must have felt that way also, otherwise, why allow Holmgren to make the changes with Brown that he did?
yeah, I think Randy caught on to Browns Bull....
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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Sure seems that was doesn't it?
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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OP
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j/c We need you, Jim! Do it for the team! Do it for the fans! Forget the current regime and that job you shouldn't need. We want the best running back EVER w/ us for the home opener!!!! http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iu9fLyxBRhbTB4IRHFRi7blwSDoAD9I7B4GG0Browns hoping Jim Brown will attend ceremony By TOM WITHERS (AP) – 18 hours ago CLEVELAND — The Browns are doing all they can to tackle Jim Brown. Team president Mike Holmgren has reached out again to the Hall of Fame running back, asking Brown to reconsider not attending this Sunday's ring of honor ceremony at halftime of Cleveland's home opener against Kansas City. Brown, the greatest player in team history and one of the NFL's all-time best, is at odds with the Browns over losing his job as a team adviser. He recently informed the Browns he would not take part in the ceremony when the team inducts its 16 Hall of Fame members as the initial class into the new ring of honor. Brown is angry that Holmgren reduced his responsibilities as an adviser to owner Randy Lerner. Never afraid to speak his mind, Brown sent a scathing letter to Holmgren, telling him he would not stay with the club to be "that of the greeter, that of a mascot." Holmgren said he has attempted to work things out with Brown, and hopes he will attend Sunday's game. "I haven't heard from Jim, but the door is open," Holmgren said as the Browns kicked off a week of festivities tied into their ring of honor. "After he declined, I wrote another letter to him and again expressed my feelings on how much we would like him there, but understood that he might not be able to come. "I left the door open. I'm holding out hope that we get that call in the next couple days." Holmgren said Lerner has also written to Brown in an attempt to smooth things over with the 74-year-old. Holmgren did not know if any of the other six living Hall of Famers or members of the other families had attempted to contact Brown. "It wouldn't surprise me because a lot of those fellas are relatively close," Holmgren said. "Not only do they share the football part of it, but I think they bump into each other at the Hall of Fame occasionally and things like that. It wouldn't surprise me. But I don't know." Holmgren said the only living member who won't make it for the ring ceremony is Mike McCormack, a two-way star for the Browns from 1954-62. McCormack, who lives in the Seattle area, recently had surgery. Holmgren wasn't able to attend Cleveland's opener in Tampa Bay on Sunday. While recovering from a foot operation, Holmgren hurt his back. "I had to have an epidural," he said. "My back, because of my foot, all of a sudden went wacko. My foot was not an excuse, but my back. I watched the game laying on my stomach in my den, looking up at the TV. Right now I'm in a lot of pain. "I'll be there Sunday. I'm not missing another game." Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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Quote:
I watched the game laying on my stomach in my den, looking up at the TV. Right now I'm in a lot of pain.
Yeah, we all are after watching that game. 
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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We need you, Jim! Do it for the team! Do it for the fans!
Yeah I don't need him there. Would it be nice - yes; but I'm not gonna plead for a guy who should be there to be there. If he doesn't show up Sunday it's he (Brown) who looks ignorant. The organization has been more than fair with him and has yet again attempted to stroke his ego for him to be there.
"If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college"
GO ROCKETS
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You can almost bet that if they chose not to include his name, he would be the first to raise a call of disrespect, even though he himself states, "I emphatically do not need validation from any man, so I will not participate in your Ring of Honor."
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum So Jim Brown is ALWAYS hanging
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