Romeo Crennel Does Not Deny Rumored Altercation Between Brady Quinn and Shaun Smith

Earlier today, we posted a story regarding a rumor circulating in Cleveland that Brady Quinn and Shaun Smith got into an alteraction in which Shaun Smith punched Brady Quinn.

I just saw on the Cleveland Plain-Dealer website, as reported by Mary-Kay Cabot, that Browns head coach Romeo Crennel did not confirm, nor deny, that the altercation took place.

From the Cabot report:

Browns coach Romeo Crennel declined to confirm a report on WKYC Channel 3 that defensive lineman Shaun Smith punched quarterback Brady Quinn in the face last week in the weight room.

But Crennel also did not deny that the incident took place.

“If it happened, we’re keeping it in house,” Crennel said.

Interestingly, as Cabot points out, Romeo Crennel “would not say whether or not Smith was out (of the Bengals game) because of disciplinary action.”

“Shaun was inactive and generally all the inactive guys are coaches’ decisions,” said Crennel. “That was a coaches’ decision for him not to play. I’m not going to talk about family business.”

Crennel did acknowledge that Smith got into a heated confrontation with an offensive lineman at practice recently, but that to his knowledge it didn’t get physical.

“Guys get heated at practice,” he said. “There was some discussion (between Shaun and an offensive lineman).”

So, we have no official confirmation or denial that Shaun Smith punched Brady Quinn. And PFT reported earlier today that their sources said that Brady Quinn denied the rumors. However, we know that it was rumored that Shaun Smith was the player who Browns players said “quit” in the game this season against Denver. And we know that he has, at the very least, been involved in confrontations with other players.

And what kind of a statement is, “if it happened, we’re keeping it in house?” If it happened? Unfortunately for Romeo Crennel, if that was his attempt at diffusing the situation, I’m fairly certain it will only make it worse. If the alleged altercation between Brady Quinn and Shaun Smith did not happen, why would Romeo Crennel say anything other than, “It did not happen”? In this case, a waffling statement like, “If it happened, we’re keeping it in house” is about as good as just coming right out and saying it happened.

And Shaun Smith’s reputation for being a hot head is not going to help this rumor go away either. As the Browns should have learned from the Phil Savage email fiasco, it is usually better to just confront these issues and explain what happened. We all know that things get heated on NFL practice fields and in locker rooms. So it’s not like an altercation would be a surprise. What does not look good is trying to play games with the media and issuing vague statements hoping that the problem goes away. In the 24-hour, web-driven news cycle we live in, these stories go viral and the truth is eventually forced out.

If the altercation happened, and I think it is safe to make such an assumption based on the information available and Crennel’s unwillingness to issue a flat denial, you might as well take the lead so you can better frame the story from a perspective of authority. For the Browns front office, I think they’d have been better off with Romeo Crennel saying nothing. His non-denial denial is like throwing chum in the ocean, and now the media sharks and bloggers will be even more hungry for details on this story now, especially as the rumor seems to be gaining more and more steam in the direction of truth as today goes on.

Did Shaun Smith Punch Brady Quinn? Rumors Fly in Cleveland

You have got to be kidding me.

I heard this rumor last week — that Browns DT Shaun Smith punched QB Brady Quinn — but thought nothing of it. A nondescript player like Shaun Smith, who had been dogged by rumors earlier this year that he was the player who “quit” when the Browns lost to the Broncos, could not possibly be stupid enough to punch franchise QB Brady Quinn, right?

Well, apparently this may be more than a rumor.

(Update 1:20 PM: And lending credence to the fact that this may be more than a rumor, earlier today Browns head coach Romeo Crennel refused to deny that an altercation between Brady Quinn and Shaun Smith took place last week.)

Two separate sources are reporting, at a minimum, the existence of a rumor today. ProFootballTalk.com mentioned it this morning and on Sunday, and the Cleveland Sports Examiner also has a report that cites WKYC-TV’s Jim Donovan has confirming the existence of said rumor. (Waiting For Next Year also has a report on this rumor, citing the Cleveland Sports Examiner story as its source.)

The rumor, according to the Cleveland Sports Examiner report, does not provide much detail:

It is still unclear if the hit was a sucker punch or with a weight. Many media sources in town are trying to track down the full story. The story sounds like more than a rumor since Donovan has now mentioned it.

You can rest assured that will little else for Browns beat reporters to cover as this horrific season winds to a close, this story of a possible Shaun Smith-Brady Quinn altercation will be investigated fully — and the details will probably come to light at some point.

According to the PFT report, Brady Quinn has denied that he was on the receiving end of any type of punch from Shaun Smith. But they are right in opining that Brady Quinn have little to gain by admitting the truth of this rumor, if it is indeed valid. The last thing that Quinn would want is for more negative attention to be brought to the team for which he is still purportedly the future. I am sure that Brady Quinn, like all of the Browns players, just wants to put the 2008 season in the rearview as quickly as possible.

Of course, if the rumor is true and Shaun Smith did punch Brady Quinn, I am sure that Quinn and many others in the organization would like to put Shaun Smith in their rearview as quickly as possible. That would not necessarily mean that anyone in the organization would want the issue to be public, however. Something tells me that after the shoddy play and effort of Shaun Smith this season, they already have enough ammo to simply deal with this in-house and still get him out of town anyway.

Radames Santiago Jr., who wrote the Cleveland Sports Examiner post on this issue states the obvious when he says the if the rumor is true, Shaun Smith should receive the first ticket out of Cleveland once the season is over. A pretty valid argument could be made, just based on the play of Shaun Smith, that he should be jettisoned from Cleveland regardless of the rumor or not.

For the Browns, this simply is another story that will bring unnecessary negative attention on the organization, and it comes on the heels of the worst loss of the season: a 14-0 trouncing by the awful Cincinnati Bengals in which Cedric Benson — CEDRIC BENSON! — ran wild and the Bengals only threw 9 passes.

I am sure a lot of people will make jokes about Brady Quinn and his pretty-boy persona and the potential heartache that a black eye or any other facial injury will cause for female Browns fans. And with little to smile about for the Browns season, perhaps such jokes can provide a brief moment of levity in an otherwise fantastically awful year.

But the real tragedy of this rumor — if it is true — is that Shaun Smith punching Brady Quinn would almost be the perfect metaphor to define the 2008 Season of Disappointment for the Cleveland Browns. Injuries have been a huge story of this season, as has the Browns propensity for injury themselves on the field with poor, self-defeating play at inopportune times.

The team lost starting quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson and are now down to playing a glorified assistant coach with little actual NFL talent in Ken Dorsey. While no offensive touchdowns in 5 games is inexcusable, it is somewhat explainable when keeping that fact in mind.

But the more egregious part of the metaphor is the Browns ability to beat themselves. An all-talk-no-play defensive lineman like Shaun Smith punching a first round pick and key member of the foundation for the future of the Browns like Brady Quinn is almost laughable — except for the fact that it might be true. If true, it would prove just how much of a turd and an idiot Shaun Smith is, and it would be a microcosm of the Browns dysfunction this season, and the inability for Romeo Crennel to exert control over his team.

The cat is out of the bag now, so we’ll see what comes of this rumor. I still think it almost seems too stupid to be true. But if there is anything we have learned from the Browns in 2008, it’s that whenever things seem like they are at their worst, there is always another story to drag the team down even further.

What an unfortunate mess. The Browns have talent in my opinion, and far too much of it to be crawling to the finish line like they are. But when that talent is injured, underperforming, and seeming to be led astray by a struggling coaching staff, it creates the putrid product that every Browns fan is being force fed this season.

Browns Banter: Shaun Smith Denies Quitting on Browns – Shoddy Journalism Led to Public Rumor

For the past week, Browns fans have been guessing which player or players that running back and team leader Jamal Lewis had in mind after lamenting some of his teammates should “check their egos at the door” and not give up when the going gets tough.

Football “is a man’s game,” a disgruntled Lewis told the media following the Browns loss to Denver — Cleveland’s second loss within four days in which the team blew 14- and 13-point leads respectively.

The story of Browns Quit picked up steam when nationally syndicated broadcaster Jim Rome (who routinely picks and chooses the kind of facts that please his clones), concluded Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel could not control his players, and thus should quit, himself.

The story grew legs well into this week after running back/receiver Joshua Cribbs backed up Lewis, adding some guys quit in the fourth quarter of both losing efforts.

Romeo Crennel tried to put an end by announcing that neither Lewis or Cribbs actually saw a Cleveland player quit during a game.

But the media and Browns fans were still playing the name game, when an obscure Web site reported that the quitting culprit was Shaun Smith.

Who?

Apparently the poster of the Web site which Midnight Writer will not cite, stated that an unnamed “source” told him that the slacker Brown was Shaun Smith. In fact, that so-called “source” did not mince words, referrring to Smith as “that f…ing guy.”

Apparently, no one bothered to check with Shaun Smith first, before posting it on the Internet.

Shaun Smith told ESPN affiliate WKNR 850 AM Friday afternoon that he was aware of the unfounded accusation, but that things like that don’t really bother him.

Smith also said his mother taught him to always do his best, and that he was totally focused on Buffalo, Monday night.

Ironically the same Web site that threw Smith under the bus after the Jamal remark, also reported that Browns tight end Kellen Winslow’s “undisclosed illness” that had him hospitalized at Cleveland Clinic last month was actually a sexually transmitted disease (STD).

However, Winslow actually was being treated for a staph infection that he initially agreed to keep under wraps.

WKNR talk host Mark “Munch” Bishop had suggested the swirling rumors of have STDs bothered Winslow, a married man, and was partially responsible for breaking his promise to Browns General Manager Phil Savage and reveal his staph infection to the media.

Maybe the author of the unnamed Web site needs to check his ego at the door. If he is writing fiction in the guise of facts just to get more hits to his site, whatever.

Just don’t call yourself a sports writer.

It hurts the reputation of the rest of us who care about the game of football and the men who play the game.

[tags]cleveland browns, nfl[/tags]