The San Diego Chargers have blown it by suspending TE Antonio Gates. As Red Auerbach said, never punish the team for the sins of the individual. N.F.L. holdouts and contract renegotiations are unbecoming to the sport and out of control; the issue should be addressed in future collective bargaining to create uniform rules for all teams.
Nevertheless, the Chargers painted themselves into a corner with their ultimatum that Gates sign the qualifying offer or be suspended. Therein lies the massive flaw with ultimatums – they limit your options. You should never make a threat that you aren’t willing to carry out and San Diego must follow through with the suspension if they value their integrity.
A more pragmatic decision would balance the best interests of the team on the field with the front office’s negotiating position. San Diego treated an issue with shades of grey like it was black and white and Coach Schottenheimer et. al. might pay for that error with their jobs if they miss their season goals because they don’t beat Dallas in Week 1.
In professional sports, principles do not win any games although a team can collapse without them. What should the Chargers have done? Unfortunately they have few options because sports are about money, winning, and performance. Ultimately, the hammer lies with the skill position athletes and the coaches don’t have many discipline tools aside from the fine.
In “amateur” sport, there is greater flexibility. Coaches have a wide variety of hammers of different shapes and sizes available for their use. Tyrone Willingham addressed poor class attendance at the University of Washington with a series of 6:00am conditioning sessions. Coaches can ask themselves “what’s important now?” and use their best professional judgement.
Likewise, back in May, Stephen Harper didn’t follow Auerbach’s advice when he tore a strip off Belinda Stronach and effectively demoted her before a key vote. No matter what happens, a coach or leader cannot permit an individual to hurt the team. This really hurt the team as the Conservatives’ bid to defeat the federal budget fell short by a vote.
A key aspect of leadership is working with those above and below you in a cordial fashion. Nothing is ever final but Harper’s drastic overreaction towards Stronach poured gasoline on a fire he should have been extinguishing. (Of course, she should not have been dancing on the bar at an Ottawa nightspot after another key vote.)