Bill Belichick and the Patriots thought they might be able to resurrect Albert Haynesworth’s career. They were wrong. Once considered to be the most dominant defensive lineman in the game, Haynesworth has become a disgrace. He signed a record-breaking free agent contract in 2009 only to collect his guaranteed money and throw in the towel on the Redskins. You can see why a player like Albert would frustrate a guy who always gave it 110 percent like Rodney Harrison.
“To see Albert Haynesworth get an opportunity to come to a great organization, with a great coach, a fabulous quarterback and all the good parts around him…” Harrison said in a recent interview that ESPN.com passed along. “To see him come out there and flat out quit, for him to pretend like he’s hurt and not go out there and become a professional football player with every chance and opportunity that guys hope and dream for, he gets it. He gets a $100 million contract, and to see him flat out quit was very disappointing.
“And I’ll tell you this, he’s going to look back five, 10, 15 years from now when he’s done playing football. He will look back on his career and he will be sitting in his mansion. But he will feel miserable, because no one is going to ever respect the name Albert Haynesworth because he flat out quit. That’s a shame and that’s a disappointment. You shouldn’t play the game of football for money. You should play it because you love it. If you love it, and you go out and play well, you’re going to make money. You’re going to have a good life. But I’m very disappointed in Albert Haynesworth.”
Harrison has shown recently that he’s not afraid to go after the Patriots, and his ripping of Haynesworth is spot-on. He had — and still has — all the potential in the world to be one of the best defensive players in the game, but he can’t seem to bring himself to give a crap. The phrase “waste of talent” is thrown around a lot in professional sports, but I can’t think of a better example than Fat Albert.
