The Remote Report: The Cleveland Browns Should Be Moving On From Jim Brown
By Kevin Nye
In the world of Cleveland Browns news, there is no such thing as a small story. One of the recent stories that became big was Jim Brown’s return to the stadium and meeting with current running back Trent Richardson.
Don’t get me wrong, Jim Brown is one of the best football players who has ever lived. His rushing statistics are pretty much unrivaled: 5.2 yards per carry and an average of 104 yards per game for his career, and a 1963 season that produced a staggering 6.4 yards per carry and 133 yards per game. He made the Pro Bowl in all nine seasons, was an All-Pro eight times, and led the league in rushing by a 2:1 margin on multiple occasions. Hell, he even turned in a dynamite performance in Mars Attacks!
But for the life of me, I cannot figure out why his presence, lack of presence, or his approval toward anything should matter to the current Cleveland Browns. Has anyone ever accused Jim Brown of being a pleasant, positive, constructive addition to an organization?
Again, I really like what the guy did on the field, and I approve of what he did in film, but this is a guy who has been investigated/arrested numerous times for spousal abuse, including “alleged terrorist threats” on his wife who was a mere 38 years his junior. He has a serious history of psychological issues (I’m calling spousal abuse psychological issues, because you don’t do it if you’re okay in the head), not to mention he played a sport that is notorious for destroying the human brain. He’s 76 years old, but we still clamor to hear him say anything good about what’s going on with the franchise right now? Why?
This team needs to move on in some way. I had a chat during the pillow fight on Sunday that briefly mentioned changing the colors.
Fine. Bring it on. Change. For the love of God, do anything to make me forget what’s been going on for the last decade and a half.
Jim Brown is in that category. It was 48 years ago that he led the team to a title – in case you forget, watch any nationally televised Cleveland sporting event to be reminded – and 47 years ago that he stopped playing football for the Cleveland Browns. He thought about making a comeback in the 80s because he didn’t like Franco Harris and felt like he ought to get to keep the rushing record; advisers probably shouldn’t think things that will get them killed.
I just can’t really get behind his currently undefined role, no matter what it has been in the past. Can anyone provide any genuine evidence of something he did to improve the future of the team during any of the times that he has intermittently been involved in the front office?
He has already flip-flopped on the current stud du jour, the aforementioned Richardson, and I honestly think it’s because he wants to stay relevant in the Cleveland media. I am ready to let him go. I know that he was kind of pushed out the door at some point in the last few years, but he may as well have stayed gone, right? He made up his mind on Richardson back around draft day and then decided that it would be in his best interest to change that opinion. If he’s admitting that he was wrong, good for him, but that doesn’t give him a track record of being right.
I guess it’s cool that he actually wore Browns gear at the game on Sunday and sort of appealed to people who were watching, but really, he’s a staple of Browns highlight packages and 75% of the fan base was born after he retired. Granted, it’s because there haven’t been many highlights since he was playing, but come on. Can’t we accept that now is different than the distant past?