Like a certain high-profile politician, Raiders coach Jon Gruden likes to come up with nicknames for people. Unlike said certain high-profile politician, the insults in Gruden’s nicknames are slightly more subtle.
“We’re calling Martavis the white tiger,” Gruden said Wednesday. “I used to go to Busch Gardens in Tampa. We call [receiver Joey] Galloway the white tiger in Tampa. You go to Busch Gardens and they’ve got a white tiger. You go 12 times or 13 times, the white tiger was always in his cage. But the white tiger came out today. Bryant came out.
“I don’t know if you get that analogy, but sometimes he comes out to play and sometimes he doesn’t. It’s good to see him because he’s really special, like the white tiger.”
Gruden can try to sell that as a compliment, but it’s a backhanded slap at a guy who has missed a couple of days of practice this week with migraines. Gruden previously had groused about Bryant missing practice time due to an illness.
That’s the way plenty of football coaches operate. They want their players to be available to practice and play, and they have little sympathy or empathy for players who have injuries or illnesses that keep them from playing. So while it may seem like good-natured barb, at its core it’s still a barb.