Panthers receiver Steve Smith reportedly wants to play somewhere other than Carolina in 2011. He’s getting sick of having to wait to find out where that is.
Smith told Steve Reed of CarolinaGrowl.com that he finds the lockout “frustrating,” and that he has no idea what to expect for 2011.
“It’s on hold because we’re not even allowed to presume there will be football,” Smith said. “That privilege, and I emphasize privilege, has been taken away. There has been some mud-slinging going on, and people have had a chance to see the business aspect of football. . . . I don’t agree with how everybody is handling it. I’m going to be fair and say I don’t agree with how owners are handling it and I don’t agree with how the trade association is handling it because things could be better. But they are really so far apart.”
Give Smith credit for following the labor situation closely enough that he remembered to call the NFLPA* a “trade association” and not a “union.”
Unfortunately, from Smith’s perspective, if the sides are far apart, that means the lockout is likely to last a long time. And if the lockout lasts a long time, there won’t be much time before the start of the regular season (if there is a regular season) for the Panthers to find a trading partner and send Smith to another team.
Which means Smith may stay in Carolina in 2011 after all. And that’s what he finds frustrating.