(hardly anyone respects him….and on the left, Joe Namath)
Former Jets QB Joe Namath has been an object of scorn for some in his post-playing days, whether for his unfortunate tipsy overtures towards Suzy Kolber or his even more unfortunate work as a sober analyst for NBC and ABC in the 1980’s. Unsparing in his critique of Jets ownership and management in an SNY podcast earlier this week (““I think the fans haven’t been given a fair shake. I don’t think they get a straight story, often enough, from the powers that be”), Namath’s commentary was ridiculed by SNY colleague Sal Licata on the barely watched “Wheelhouse” program, a situation the New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman (another SNY fixture) takes exception to.
Licata characterizing Namath as a “disrespectful” former employee is comical. When it comes to criticizing the Jets, especially inside The Valley of the Stupid, the critiques have all gotten personal. Some are over the top, more than disrespectful. That’s typical of a turf war where players, coaches, front office personnel and even owners get verbally torched. Characterizations are routinely blown out of proportion.
The fact that the Jets, from Ryan to Tannenbaum to Johnson, talked tall and now wind up carrying a toothpick makes this piling on time. Yet when Namath enters this school of hard knocks, the rest of the students want him expelled.
Be nice, Joe. You once played for this organization. You’re not supposed to tell the truth. Of course if Namath delivered Twinkies, the same mouths would be all over him for playing the shill.