All haters need to grow up. You either appreciate what #4 did for our team or you don't. There's no wishy-washy middle ground of "if he does this then I feel this way".
After making a life decision in March of '08, #4 later indicates (at the latest June 20th) to our team that he regrets that choice & wishes to play for our team again. Our team rebuffs this.
At this point #4 chooses to make these events public, driven by spite or merely a desire to have his side of the affair made known.
Then the team cell phone story festers for 3 or 4 days before the team acknowleges that no GB players are issued a team call phone. Intentionally or not, this tactic or oversight plays well into our team's ongoing media struggle with a now estranged player. No proof that GB leaked this accusation about records of phone conversations between #4 & members of the Vikings but who else would be privileged to such records? An unscrupulous employee of a cell phone company sympathetic to GB? Perhaps, but then that would imply an attempt by our team to use an illegal tactic to make a case for MN coaches tampering with a GB player.
Admittedly, I'm disgusted by all actions & events surrounding the break-up between #4 & our team. All involved acted in the best interest of their respective intents & purposes, though. Once things sour, it's hard to find fault with anything one side or the other does to justify their means, at least from an objective, neutral perspective.
I have a life-long connection to our team & every player who laced 'em up for the Green & Gold. Some players achieved more than others but I hold all of them in the highest regard for their physical sacrifices to our team.
Altering the way I feel about one or any of those individuals based on anything outside the field of play isn't in my character, Lofton's, Cade's, Chmura's & Barnett's legal issues being exceptions. Those were avoidable situations that demonstrated poor judgment. A distinction must be made when physical harm to innocent people becomes an issue.