Press? Pass.

Apparently Bob Sanders is a bad man.

Well, we all know he’s a baaaaad man, but a small time journalist apparently things he’s a bad guy too.

His crime?

He doesn’t like to talk about his injuries or money.

Yes, in a world full off philandering ‘roid takers, wife beaters, and drunk drivers, Bob Sanders is to be villified because he doesn’t want to talk about how much money he gave to an Eerie, PA school.

I’m not going launch into the stupidity of this article, as it was already effectively done on a great blog by an Eerie native.

Maybe I’m not in the media world so I don’t understand the politics of it fully, but to write a piece making it sound like Bob Sanders owes us, the local people of Erie, answers to the questions you want answered is ridiculous.

Bob Sanders doesn’t owe me anything.

I think too many people these days feel that all athletes should act a certain way towards the media.  People act like it’s an injustice to society if an athlete doesn’t want to answer questions or accept an interview.  Media members really think that they are partly responsible for helping an athlete get to where they’re at and they should be owed something for it.  Do people ever just think that some athletes don’t want the attention and others just want their private life to be private?

Bob Sanders was back in Erie, PA for Bob Sanders weekend.  During the weekend he provided money to start computer labs at two schools.  A reporter from the Erie Times-News asked for the amount donated and Bob got upset because he either didn’t want to answer it or he didn’t have the figure on hand.  Now Bob’s a bad guy.

I think Bob Sanders doesn’t want his charitable efforts to become publicized.  He gives money away and provides goodwill because of his character, not because it makes him look good to society.

Here’s a little information that was never publicized about Bob.  A couple years ago a relative of mine was injured severely in a car accident.  He had brain damage and was in a coma for a long period of time.  Till this day he is still unable to walk, unable to speak normally, and he still has permanent brain damage.  Bob learned about his situation and found out that he’s the favorite player of my relative.  When Bob was home in Erie he went and visited him, brought him a jersey, and spent a little of his time with him.  A year later he flew him and his entire family in a private flight out to Indianapolis for a game.  Was this publicized in the Erie Times-News? No.  Probably because Bob didn’t want it publicized.

Just because an athlete acts like they’re controlling the media and not providing all the answers that a columnist wants doesn’t mean they’re a bad person, it could just mean that they want to focus on who’s receiving the goodwill, not who’s providing it.

Well said.