Browns vs. Bills training camp: Justin Gilbert’s not so flawless day
By Thomas Moore
Jul 30, 2015; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns general manager Ray Farmer, Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine and owner Jimmy Haslam during training camp at the Cleveland Browns practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King had a item on general manager Ray Farmer in today’s Monday Morning Quarterback after spending time with Farmer last week in Berea.
King briefly goes over the detail’s of Farmer’s four-game suspension for texting during games last season – he can have no contact or activity with the team once the preseason ends until Oct. 5 – and came away impressed that Farmer is being an adult over the entire situation (unlike a certain quarterback from a team in the Northeast).
“My mom and dad taught me a long time ago to take responsibility for my actions,” Farmer told King. “That’s what I have done. As the time gets closer, I continue to reflect on what I did, and the cost of it. I made a mistake, and this is my penalty, and I am going to serve it.
“It’s not my job to make up the punishment, or to issue the punishment. My job is the general manager of the Cleveland Browns. And I made a mistake, and I have to live with it.
“I look at it this way: If I’m speeding, and I get caught, depending where it happens, maybe I get a $300 fine, or maybe I get a $1,000 dollar fine. That’s not my job, to decide what the fine is. If I speed and get caught, well, I shouldn’t have been speeding. Someone else determines what the penalty for it is.”
Much has been made about this situation since word came out about the text, with much hand-wringing over how it created an unfixable break between Farmer and Pettine.
Both men have said they’ve worked things out and have moved on. If Farmer was as candid with Pettine as he was with King in talking about what occurred, there’s little reason to believe that they have truly moved on and are focusing on more important matters.
Next: Pettine embracing the challenge