In a story that reminds us a little of the team photo story before the Super Bowl, the Packers are getting some attention this week for who they haven’t invited to Thursday’s Super Bowl ring ceremony.
Josh Bell, who spent the year on injured reserve after playing with the team in 2009, wants to know why he isn’t going.
“This is kind of a surprise. It’s unfortunate,” his agent Frederick Lyles told Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “I don’t know if it’s an oversight, considering the attention being paid to the lockout. We just haven’t been able to reach them and find out.”
Bell will get a Super Bowl bonus share, as mandated by the league. But the team can give a ring to whoever they want. Silverstein writes Bell “probably” isn’t the only player that spent time on the roster who won’t get a ring, but he may be the only I.R. player to get shafted.
“The thing is he’s a part of the team no matter how you look at it,” Lyles said. “He was injured playing. He’s still a part of the roster.”
We tend to agree. We know rings aren’t cheap, but is it really worth saving the money? The Packers weren’t interested in explaining why Bell was left out.
“We haven’t discussed those details publicly,” club spokesman Aaron Popkey told Silverstein. “We feel it’s an internal matter out of respect for everyone involved.”
There is no truth to the rumor ESPN is considering changing their monumentally important franchise rankings following the news.