With National Football League players showing more and more often that they can't read the league memo on image and decorum, the sport is turning to a player who could someday be an ambassador for the game.
Joe Thomas read the letters from the league, which invited him to draft day festivities in New York City and, eventually, to the green room, his final step before entering the pro ranks. But he opted for family tradition instead.
""I wrote an e-mail thanking the commissioner for his invitation and hoping he would understand how important it is for me to spend the day with my family, many of whom would not have been able to make the trip to New York,"" Thomas wrote in a diary for SportingNews.com. ""It has been amazing how many e-mails and letters I have received from all over the country supporting this personal decision.""
Still, when Roger Goodell, the NFL's commissioner, takes to the podium sometime in the top ten picks on Saturday and announces the well-advised selection of Thomas, the league's very own network is dead-set on introducing a guy whose talent measures up with his priorities.
Thomas' story has been publicized enough, at least in Wisconsin, that most of the state's followers of UW's best football player know he chose bait and tackle on Lake Michigan over tackle and blocking analysis at Radio City Music Hall.
Even so, the NFL is obviously intent enough on getting Thomas some publicity that its network is mounting a camera on his boat while he and his dad fish for Coho salmon.
""We'll be the only one with him in the middle of the lake,"" NFL Network Executive Producer Eric Weinberger has been quoted as saying. ""I hope he gets cell phone reception,"" so he can hear from the team that chooses him.
Whether the league is committing an encroachment penalty against this 6'6'', 313-pound offensive tackle and his family tradition is a debate for another time. Thomas's decision to stay away from the drawn-out draft day to spend time with family is admirable and positive for the league. And when you consider the grueling training camp in the offing, there's no reason he should not be able to choose family over football.
Don't mistake that for lack of dedication, though. We're talking about an athlete who tore his ACL playing defense for the good of the team—and said nary a negative word about the episode afterwards. Instead, he rehabilitated and won the Outland Trophy this year, then went on to stand out at the combine. Now he's working toward graduation, all the while planning for a July wedding.
At the moment, though, it sounds as if Thomas is focused on and looking forward to Saturday's events. He wrote in the Sporting News Web diary that he wants to catch more fish than his dad does. That's no certainty, but here's one: the NFL team that drafts Joe Thomas is getting one of the catches of the day.
If you'd like to go on your very own Lake Michigan fishing excursion with Joe Thomas, e-mail Jon at bortin@wisc.edu.
