The Washington Redskins have just about it had it with Albert Haynesworth's(notes) unhappy dance, and now they're firing back. According to the AP, their plan of attack is to recover some or all of the $21 million they gave him in bonus money last year.
The Redskins are going to see if they can recoup all or part of a $21 million bonus from the disgruntled two-time All Pro defensive tackle, an official within the league with knowledge of the deliberations told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The team decided to take the action after Haynesworth failed to report for a mandatory two-day minicamp.
Haynesworth, as you know, is upset because the Redskins want him to play in a 3-4 defense, as opposed to the 4-3 Albert prefers.
Haynesworth's contention is that the Redskins promised him he'd be playing in a 4-3, and he never would've signed there if he knew his role would be as a 3-4 player. Unless he specifically got that written into his contract, though, I don't think it matters. The Redskins signed him to play football.
So play football, Big Al.
Whenever possible, I try to side with the player in NFL athlete vs. management controversies. I feel like the current collective bargaining agreement is slanted very much in favor of the owners, and players generally get the short end of the stick.
Haynesworth is making that stance difficult, though. He's not a young guy who's outperformed his contract, and he's not someone who isn't going to get the payday he deserves. He just signed with the Redskins a year ago for $100 million.
I don't care if they ask you to return punts on the scout team or clip Rex Grossman's(notes) toenails. You took the money. Now you do what they ask you to do, which, by the way, is not unreasonable.
Unless you're willing to give the money back, in which case I'm sure the Redskins would be happy to release you, and you can go see if someone else will give you $100 million. Heads-up, though: Only one Dan Snyder exists.
Yahoo
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