On Monday at their end-of-season media conference, Baltimore Ravens’ owner Steve Bisciotti made statements about the team’s quarterback Lamar Jackson that deeply upset fans and NFL commentators.
When asked whether Lamar Jackson was consulted before head coach John Harbaugh was fired, Bisciotti said that while he had spoken with Lamar, whom he described as “nonconfrontational,” he didn’t play an “outsized part” in the decision.
He also said that when it comes to hiring a new head coach, Jackson has “a lot of say, but he has no power.”
“Let me translate that for you,” says BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock. “What he’s saying is: Lamar Jackson is not a leader.”
“It’s not that leaders look for confrontation, but they’re not afraid of confrontation. They don’t avoid confrontation. They don’t avoid conflict. They settle conflict. … That’s not Lamar Jackson,” he says.
“[Jackson] knows what he can actually do, and that’s play quarterback, make enough plays with his arms and feet to be an exceptional quarterback, but that’s it. He’s not a leader. They don’t have the traditional quarterback leadership with Lamar Jackson.”
The fans and critics who have complained about Jackson’s lack of power when it comes to team decisions clearly don’t understand this about him, says Jason. But Bisciotti “[knows] exactly who Lamar Jackson is” — not a “business mogul who we need to be conferring with before making business decisions” but an “overgrown [child].”
Part of Jackson’s growing up journey needs to involve “[keeping] his mama out of his business,” says Jason. Jackson’s mother, Felicia, has operated as his manager since his NFL debut and to this day plays a central role in his contract negotiations.
Jason warns that if she gets “gassed up by the idiots on ESPN and other places that talk about ‘player empowerment’ and ‘Lamar must have influence,”’ she’s going to create major problems between her son and Steve Bisciotti.
If Jackson were anything like former Ravens’ heart-and-soul leaders Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, it’d be a different story.
“Steve Bisciotti makes it crystal clear we don’t have a Ray Lewis situation here with Lamar Jackson. We have a great quarterback who likes to play video games, who can’t stay healthy for 17 games, particularly now as he ages and takes more hits. We want to keep this quarterback, but we’re not going to treat him like he’s Ray Lewis or Ed Reed,” says Jason.
To hear more of his commentary, watch the video above.
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