The noted critic of manners and decorum Bernard Pollard has weighed in on the Johnny Manziel finger.
And amazingly, Pollard was the one wagging his finger today.
The Titans safety said Manziel said giving the Half-Bud Adams salute to the Washington sidelines sent a bad message “for a lot of young people.”
“I don’t know what was said, I could really care less. But we as players, we are blessed with this opportunity to play this game. We are on a stage, regardless if you want to say it or not, or believe it or not. We are on a stage,’' Pollard said, via Jim Wyatt of the Tennesseean. “He is at a position where he is a quarterback, and every young boy wants to be a quarterback, they want to be a face of a franchise, they want to be that guy. He is in that position.
“Everybody has seen [the gesture], and that set a bad example for a lot of young people.”
That clearly offended the delicate sensibilities of Pollard, who said he wouldn’t hesitate to take a shot at Manziel when they see each other next.
“We just have to play the game. If I get a clean shot at him, I am going to take it.’' Pollard said. “This league, the rules are set up to where these quarterbacks are protected. . . . But God has blessed us with this ability, with these talents, so don’t ruin it. The guy is a great player; he was a great college player. I don’t know what to say about him at the league level. I don’t know who he is. He has to prove himself and these little things he continues to get himself, with whatever gestures.
“All we can do is judge him off of game play. And that gesture, that wasn’t good.”
This from Pollard, one of the league’s chronic illegal-hit artists, who threw his former coach under the bus, blaming Hall of Famer Mike Munchak as the reason his own team “sucked butt,” last season.
So clearly, he’s the one to scold Manziel for bad manners.