WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010


KLMNO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL


The trials and tribulations of Albert Haynesworth


FEB. 27, 2009 Haynesworth accepts a $100 million contract to play for theWashington Redskins.


MARCH 12, 2009 Haynesworth is indicted on two misdemeanor traffic charges stemming from a December 2008 accident in Tennessee in which another driver was seriously injured.


SEPT. 27, 2009 Haynesworth suffers a hip injury in 19-14 loss to Detroit Lions.


DEC. 25, 2009 Haynesworth is sent home from practice for disciplinary reasons. He was reportedly late for the team meeting and was told not to attend practice because of his tardiness.


MARCH 15, 2010 Haynesworth informs new Coach Mike Shanahan that he will skip the team’s offseason workout program.


APRIL 1, 2010 The Redskins offer to release Haynesworth if he doesn’t take his $21 million contract bonus. Instead, Haynesworth takes the bonus check and agrees to stay with the team.


JUNE 15, 2010 Haynesworth refuses to attend the Redskins’ two-day mandatory mini- camp and requests to be traded.


JULY 28, 2010 Haynesworth reports to Redskins training camp and has discussions with Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett about the role he will play in the organization. Shanahan says after the meeting, “Hopefully, he’ll like the position that we play him in and give us everything that he’s got.”


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST By suspending AlbertHaynesworth (92) the maximum for conduct detrimental to the team, the Redskins likely have prevented him from getting another payday this season. ON FOOTBALL The logical conclusion to an illogical aquisition on football from D1


$41 million in guaranteed money. Players had grown weary of


the ongoing Shanahan- Haynesworth dust-ups and were eager for closure. “The drama is over with,”


defensive lineman-linebacker Andre Carter said. Although Shanahan did not


specifically mention Haynesworth’s status while addressing the teamMonday after Sunday’s embarrassing 31-7 loss to the New York Giants, it seemed clear to some in the room that Shanahan was alluding toHaynesworth in saying players could be judged as much on character as they are on talent. Shanahan listedHaynesworth


as inactive against theGiants because of the poor effort he displayed lastweek in preparation for the game, multiple people familiarwith the situation said. The decision renewed frustration in the locker roomthat the team’s top football official andHaynesworthwere still at odds nearing the end of Washington’s third straight disappointing season. After years when mixed


messages at Redskins Park left players wondering whether the owner or the coach was setting the agenda, Shanahan’s message should especially resonate. In the future, if players consider skipping Shanahan’s “voluntary” offseason workouts, they’ll think about


Haynesworth. If they have problems with the team’s schemes, they’ll remember Haynesworth. And if they are just frustrated in general with the coaching staff, weather, or lunch menu at Redskins Park, well, what happened to Haynesworth? The nine-year veteran’s 2010 season will serve as a Redskins cautionary tale. Obviously, Shanahan and his


top lieutenant, General Manager Bruce Allen, have been building a case against Haynesworth since the offseason, seeking ways to recoup some of the $21 million bonus the two-time all-pro player received in April. A statement attributed to Shanahan in the team’s news release citedHaynesworth’s repeated refusal “to cooperate with our coaching staff in a variety of ways over an extended period of time” among the reasons disciplinary action was necessary. There were reports Tuesday


thatHaynesworth could be in danger of losing all or part of his most recent bonus payment. But that’s highly unlikely, according to three people familiar with the collective bargaining agreement’s forfeiture language. With the suspension—the maximum a team can give a player for conduct detrimental to the team—the Redskins likely have prevented Haynesworth from getting another payday this season. Had the Redskins released


Suspension permitted under CBA Under the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its


players’ union, a team can suspend a player for as many as four weeks without pay for conduct detrimental to the club. So theWashington Redskins’ suspension of defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth is the longest suspension permitted under the sport’s labor deal. A precedent-setting case on an NFL team’s ability to discipline a player developed after the Philadelphia Eagles sent wide receiver Terrell Owens home with nine games remaining in the 2005 season. The Eagles suspended Owens without pay for the maximum four games, then paid him not to play for the team in the final five games. The NFL Players Association challenged the Eagles’ disciplinary action on


TONI L. SANDYS/THE WASHINGTON POST


By suspending Albert Haynesworth, CoachMike Shanahan has reaffirmed his grip on the Redskins franchise.


him and he cleared waivers, Haynesworth would have been free to sign with any team. Despite his problems with Shanahan,Haynesworth has shown flashes of the talent that made him the top player in the 2009 free-agent class, prompting Snyder to overlook the glaring needs along the offensive line that offseason to sign a player who also was a bad fit forWashington’s previous 4-3 scheme. A contender probably would


have pursuedHaynesworth for a postseason run. There’s a chance the appeal


process won’t be completed by the end of the regular season.


MIKE WISE Haynesworth wins war of wills, but he and Shanahan both come out losers wise from D1 He does not have to suffer the


drudgery of preparing for, in all likelihood, an unimportant game on the day after Christmas with teammates in Jacksonville. Just as well, though. Cliches


about teams being families aside,Haynesworth never behaved as if he considered his teammates kin. The single,most expensive


indictment of owner Daniel Snyder’s shopping addiction era will eventually leave town with almost $34.8million for 53 tackles and 61/2


sacks in 20


games over two seasons. That’s $656,000 per tackle,


$1.74million per game and $5.35million per sack. Uh, Albert won. BrianMitchell, the former


player and analyst whose opinion I highly respect, said 60 percent of the blame for Haynesworth not working out inWashington should be leveled at Shanahan. I wouldn’t go that far, but clearly the franchise’s top decisionmaker on all things football has to own


his part in this season-long migraine. Perhaps not wanting to


deflect blame toward his new boss, Snyder, who did the usual spendthrift thing and signed Haynesworth to the richest-ever deal for a defensive player in 2009—an ungodly $100 million deal, $41million of which was guaranteed— Shanahan begrudgingly kept Big Al. Like every accomplished coach with an ego, perhaps he thought he could siphonmore out ofHaynesworth than Jeff Fisher had in Tennessee or Jim Zorn had inHaynesworth’s first season inWashington. That was his firstmistake. Then, rather than deduce


Haynesworth’s potential for becoming a season-long distraction prior to training camp, Shanahan set out to make an example of himby quarantining the big lug from his teammates andmaking him submit to a conditioning drill. My-WayMike let all the world know howmany times No. 92 failed, as if it were sweeps week and the “Biggest Loser” needed a dramatic conclusion.


On this dereliction-of-duty


theme went until Shanahan broke him, to the point Haynesworth told General Manager Bruce Allen Tuesday he no longer wanted to speak to the coach. What Shanahan failed to


realize while he was playing “The Great Santini” is that Haynesworth actually broke him. Hemade himrealize the


truth: that for two Super Bowls and turning all those bit-part running backs into 1,000-yard rushers in Denver, Shanahan still couldn’t reformthe troublemaker in the back of the class inWashington.He couldn’t bring out the best—or even the better—in a guy who seemingly didn’t want to learn. If someone high up in the


Redskins organization wanted it out thatHaynesworth was allegedly hung over last Friday —a scurrilous allegation that sadlymade its way to television without somuch as a named source—that backfired, too. Because in perhaps


infuriatingHaynesworth enough to get himself suspended the last


four games, and trying to give the Redskins an edge in public opinion pollwhen Tuesday’s suspensionwent down, everyone in Ashburn nowmust absorb blame for trying to unsuccessfullymake a very, very round peg fit in their square hole. Haynesworth won because he


got almost everything he wanted—most of his guaranteedmoney, a pass on playing the 3-4 defense full time and a chance tomove away froman organization which he tormented asmuch as it tormented him. Instead of a having a Pro


Bowler whomakes NFC East quarterbacks run for cover each Sunday, the defense is about to give upmore yards than any other in the 73-year history of the Redskins. Because the organization was at war with its most talented defensive player all year, yet another need has to bemet in the offseason. Haynesworth gets about 70


percent of the blame inmy book. As Redskins defensive lineman Andre Carter said Tuesday on the radio show I co-


host on 106.7 FM, “Sometimes you got to look in themirror to fix things.” Beyond legal filings against


Haynesworth the past year and aMiami stripper alleging paternity at last year’s Super Bowl, no one should have to endure a familymember dying so young, asHaynesworth did when his brother was killed in a motorcycle accident earlier this season.He has already called this year “the worst” of his life. But at least professionally, if


not personally, when relationships keep going south, at some point it’s best to look at the common denominator in all of the acrimony, the one constant through all the turmoil: AlbertHaynesworth. Until he at least


acknowledges he needs to begin taking care of his side of the fence, he won’t win anything besides a costly and calamitous personality clash with his employer. If you count the further


damage inflicted upon Haynesworth’s reputation, everybody lost. wisem@washpost.com


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST


AlbertHaynesworth’s time in Washington was filled with off- field incidents, little on the field.


Owens’s behalf, contending that it was excessive and violated the collective bargaining agreement. But arbitrator Richard Bloch upheld the team’s measures after conducting a 14-hour hearing. In a 38-page ruling, Bloch called Owens’s behavior “unparalleled detrimental misconduct” and wrote that Eagles Coach Andy Reid “could properly conclude that, however excellent Owens’ performance was on the field, his off-field conduct and demeanor were seriously devitalizing the organization.” But the league and union overturned part of that ruling in their 2006 labor settlement, prohibiting a team from deactivating a player as a disciplinary measure beyond the four-week limit.


—Mark Maske


The Redskins still retain Haynesworth’s rights. To be sure, though, the Shanahan-Haynesworth relationship is on the fast track to a divorce. Shanahan chose not to tradeHaynesworth because he did not receive a trade offer he wanted, but it is widely believed in the NFL that the Redskins have no choice but to eventually release Haynesworth, a former league executive and a NFC assistant coach said recently. During a lengthy interview


Monday night,Haynesworth said he planned to finish the season strong and “show everybody I’mstill that same


player who can dominate. I just have to play.” Very soon, he’ll likely get a


chance to prove himself again elsewhere. As for the Redskins, Snyder’s


willingness to accept an almost $35-million loss at Shanahan’s apparent insistencemakes it clear the franchise’s fortunes, for better or forworse, are clearly in the head coach’s hands. “I like Al, and a lot of guys


like Al, but Coach Shanahan runs this now,” cornerback Carlos Rogers said. “It’s not the way it used to be


around here, and that’s just the way it is.”


reidj@washpost.com


JULY 29, 2010 Haynesworth fails his conditioning test for the first time.


JULY 30, 2010 Haynesworth fails his conditioning test for the second time.


AUG. 7, 2010 Haynesworth passes his conditioning test.


AUG. 23, 2010 Haynesworth is sidelined with a medical condition called rhabdomyolysis. Prior to learning of the condition, Shanahan likens his ailment to a headache and tells AOL Fanhouse: “One thing for sure that is clear to me is that Albert has gotten away in the past with playing without practicing. That will not happen under this regime. If he’s going to play, he’s going to practice, and that is the same with every player here. The days of him playing without practicing are over. And that, to me, says it all.’’


SEPT. 2, 2010 Shanahan forces Haynesworth to play the entire final preseason game.


SEPT. 7, 2010 ESPN reports that the Redskins are in talks with the Tennessee Titans about trading Haynesworth.


SEPT. 19, 2010 Haynesworth is declared inactive for the Redskins game against the Houston Texans due to a sprained ankle.


OCT. 7, 2010 After his brother is killed in a motorcycle accident, Haynesworth does not play in the game against Green Bay Packers on Oct. 10.


OCT. 17, 2010 Shanahan puts Haynesworth on the inactive list for the game against the Indianapolis Colts.


OCT. 24, 2010 Haynesworth has his best game of the season against the Chicago Bears—three tackles, a sack for a 10-yard loss, and a forced fumble.


DEC. 3, 2010 Haynesworth does not practice with the team due to illness.


DEC. 5, 2010 Haynesworth is deactivated for the game against New York Giants.


DEC. 7, 2010 Redskins suspend Haynesworth for four games without pay, citing conduct detrimental to the team. —Julie Tate


EZ SU


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