JOE THEISMANN'S SELECTIVE EMBARRASSMENT

Appearing on a Toronto radio station yesterday, former star
quarterback and current Monday Night Football commentator Joe
Theismann proclaimed that the Toronto Argonauts' signing of running
back Ricky Williams made him ashamed to have played for the team. "I
am embarrassed to have worn that 'A' on my helmet, to think that they
would stoop to this level to sell tickets, to bring in someone who is
not worthy of playing professional football," Mr. Theismann seethed.
"He has insulted professional football players, he has insulted
professional football, he has been suspended from the National
Football League, he doesn't want to play ... It's a damn shame that
the Toronto Argonauts would not show a lot more class and pass on
somebody who has been a repeat drug offender."

If Mr. Theismann is this offended by a player whose taste for
marijuana has put him at odds with the National Football League, why
is it that, back in his playing days in the NFL, he happily shared a
locker room with star Dexter Manley, retained by the Washington
Redskins despite legendary drug problems that subsequently landed him
in prison for possession of crack cocaine? For that matter, how did he
abide Tony Peters, a Redskins teammate arrested during training camp
for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, then welcomed back after
pleading guilty to a lesser charge?

Mr. Theismann's hypocrisy is shared by many others who have criticized
the Argos for signing Mr. Williams. The suspended Miami Dolphins star
has no history of violence or other serious misconduct; he has merely
made use of a drug no more harmful than the alcohol sold by the NFL's
sponsors, in large part to treat a personality disorder that makes him
inordinately shy. And yet, in a sport riddled with serious drug users,
wife-beaters and other criminals, he has been greeted with an absurd
amount of finger-wagging -- much more than met CFL teams' signings of
far more troubled players in the past.

In part, this is attributable to Mr. Williams' high profile. But it is
also because he has refused to conform to expectations of how a
football player should behave -- at one point skipping an entire
season in favour of traveling the world, including a prolonged stint
living in a tent in Australia. In other words, his life does not
entirely revolve around the sport -- an egregious offence to the likes
of Mr. Theismann, but something that should make him a good fit in the
more laid-back Canadian market.

Far from embarrassing themselves, the Argos deserve credit for being
less judgmental -- and for treating their fans to an opportunity to
watch one of the best players in the world.