How Important Is Attitude?

on 06 21, 2010

In light of this most recent Albert Haynesworth situation, it’s brought me to ask an important question about professional athletes:  How Important is Attitude?

This seems silly, because honestly, up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t think attitude was on the same level as talent.  The way I used to see it: if a player was talented and helped their team win, who cares if that athlete was arrogant or selfish?  But the thing is attitude can hurt a teams chances of winning or said players chances of succeeding just as much as lack of talent.

Going back to Albert Haynesworth—it’s safe to say that the way he’s handled this situation from the Redskins is going to significantly hurt his chances of being positively received in Washington or wherever he ends up before Week 1.  Why?  He’s shown that a player like him who has all the talent in the world will be a miserable teammate, a selfish person and hard to root for.  He’s a man making all the money anyone could ask for, at yet he’s handling it with zero maturity.  At this rate, how can anyone in Washington cheer for this guy and who will willingly want to work with him?

Another prime example of this is Terrell Owens.  A year ago, I was thrilled, thrilled, when I learned T.O. was coming to my hometown Buffalo Bills.  But, after watching a season of lackluster effort from him, I learned that talent is not everything.  Everyone can agree that T.O. is an extremely gifted wide receiver in the NFL.  Yet, if this is the case, why hasn’t a team signed him yet?  Because nobody wants to deal with him as a person.    He’s hard to play with, hard to coach, hard to bring him in to help.  If he’s not the star, he’ll just stop trying—and that’s exactly what happened in Buffalo.

As my Nets have been bringing in players to workout for Thursday’s NBA Draft, a few names continue to pop up in terms of potential picks.  One of them, DeMarcus Cousins, has consistent knocks against his attitude.  It’s interesting, that a player has the talent of a top draft pick, but will probably fall because he’s cocky and selfish.  It almost seems stupid.

So why is poor attitude such a bad thing?  Well, first off, it’s clear that the objective of sports is to bring the right group of players together to win a championship.  Teams don’t need a group of superstars to make this happen—they need a group of players with chemistry.  It’s not about having the best players, it’s about having the best team.

Okay, I’m being obvious.  But in all seriousness, the way Haynesworth is acting will have everything to do with Washington’s defensive chemistry.  He can still come out and be the powerhouse he is—but it simply will not be the same.  He’s ruined his image and his chances of being successful on that team.  All for something that is completely irrelevant to his talent and the talent of his teammates.  Quite honestly, it makes me sick.

I always got upset when Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson went on and on about fining “quality character guys to play for Buffalo.”  I thought, why not just go out and get the best guys? But now, I’m starting to get it.  The best guys don’t win football games—but the best team does.

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