Chargers kicker Josh Lambo is sorry for his amused reaction after another heartbreaking defeat.
Players and coaches were apparently put off by kicker Josh Lambo’s reaction to another close loss, this time a 34-31 defeat to the Oakland Raiders. That loss saw a game-tying field goal attempt by Lambo scuttled due to a fumbled snap. However, TV cameras caught Lambo jogging jovially off the field in the aftermath of the defeat and apparently having a laugh with Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski, a visual that upset some teammates.
On Tuesday, Lambo told reporters that he was simply laughing at something Janikowski told him, but understood how it looked.
“I think it was a misinterpretation of what happened. Obviously I was as devastated as anybody about the loss,” Lambo said, via Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press. “No one enjoys losing I certainly don’t take it lightly.
“In the kicking world, [Janikowski’s] a superstar. He’s a rock star,” Lambo added. “He’s a guy I look up to, a guy I consider a growing friend. We had a word, we had a laugh. We’re people. The work day was over and he said something funny and when Sebastian Janikowski says something funny to you, you laugh.”
Coach Mike McCoy said Lambo did the right thing by apologizing and speaking to his teammates.
“Everybody on your team is looking at you and looking at everything you do at all times,” McCoy said, via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union Tribune. “When a teammate sees you in a situation like this and you get caught, laughing it up, people take it differently. Everybody is different. Some players will look at it and say, ‘It’s not a big deal.’ Other players, it pisses you off. You were involved in a critical play in the game, and it wasn’t executed properly, and we lost. Just understand what it means.
“I think he’s handled it the right way, talking to his teammates, talking to different coaches on the staff, apologizing and what he’s learned from it.”
There’s obviously plenty of precedent for this sort of thing. It was a bad look for Lambo, and he seems to get it, though it will be of little consolation with the way the Chargers are going.
