Don't be an a-hole

Warrick Dunn walking away.
Tiffany hurrying after and tapping him on the shoulder.
Warrick turns, "Hello."
Tiffany (big breath and...): "I just wanted to say hello, I'm a huge fan, I went to Florida State and remember when you played back in the mid-90's. I've followed your whole career, I think you are.." blah blah blah.

Inside my head said shut up but my mouth never got the memo. Hey, I'm not exactly proud of it but in my defense, I wasn't working and to this day he's the only person I've gushed over. Fortunately for me he was cool and completely held back on making me feel like a dork. Instead he insisted he was flattered and it made my night. (For any of you who think you are smooth enough to not repeat the same thing, good for you.)

So today I pull up an article titled "One and Dunn? Warrick ready for classy last hurrah".

The very first quote reads: "Please don't portray me as some sort of perfect person," said Dunn in a telephone interview with me. "I hate that. I'm not perfect."

Ok fine, but he's sure close.

Later he says about the current group of NFL youngsters: "When I came in, my generation was different. We respected the guys who came before us. I learned about the guys who paved the way. Now you have a lot of young guys who don't care about the past. They couldn't name some of the past great players. They (couldn't) care less."

And in a more direct way, using some sage advice: "Don't act like an a-hole. There are too many guys who act like that. I've seen too many guys who just want money and power."

Don't act like an a-hole. Frank, but gets the point across.

In the second quote the words Respect and Learn are the two that stick out. In the next quote, the two words are Money and Power. It says a lot when a guy like him views some (not all) of the younger guys as a generation after only those two things.  

Gregg Rosenthal and I do a weekly Fantasy Fix show and sometimes we feature the "Police Blotter" to discuss the fantasy implications from whichever athlete got in trouble with the law this time. If more guys were like Dunn, its safe to assume that segment would one day go away.

Finally he says: "I have my faults. I've made my share of mistakes but I've always tried to live right."

He's done more then just try. He's held himself accountable for his actions. Dunn, throughout his career, has carried within himself a high standard of who he wants to be.