Rashard Mendenhall was different, but he was right about one thing

I have always found Rashard Mendenhall to be a different sort.

There are several reasons for that, going back to his rookie season when he told the bizarre story how he was mugged walking along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

Even he was suffered a broken scapula after a thunderous hit from Ray Lewis in Week 2, ending his rookie season, Mendenhall never came around the locker room much, if at all, after that, preferring to remain away from his teammates when you would think he would want to be around the team and soak up as much experience and knowledge as possible in his first season.

Further proof of his odd behavior came when Mike Tomlin benched him the week of the Tennessee game in 2011, saying Mendenhall was not doing enough to know his assignments – a curious critique of a 1,000-yard rusher who had never missed a game after his rookie season.

It would be easy to criticize Mendenhall for having much the same lackadaisical approach in 2012 when he was deactivated for two games and suspended by the team for another. The suspension was a result of Mendenhall not showing up for a home game against the San Diego Chargers when he was told on Friday he would be inactive for the second game in a row.

Mendenhall said he did not know he was supposed to show up for the game merely to stand on the sideline, a comment that might have been even more damaging than an insubordinate attitude, which is how his no-show was initially perceived. By admitting that, Mendenhall was viewed as a player who didn’t support his teammates or, worse, didn’t care what happened. In a team game, there is nothing viewed with more disdain than a player who doesn’t have a teammate’s back, whether in the game or along the sideline.

That being said, I think the situation was not entirely Mendenhall’s fault. Rather, I think it was the result of Tomlin punishing Mendenhall for a pair of fumbles (one of which he lost) in a big game in Cleveland on Nov. 25. Mendenhall was upset because he felt he was being singled out for fumbling when other players on the team, such as Antonio Brown in an earlier defeat in Oakland, committed the same number of gaffesin a game without any recrimination.

This is not to suggest Mendenhall was right for not showing up for the Chargers game. That is wrong. But Tomlin went a little too far with the punishment, and was even told as much by one of his assistant coaches.

All this comes to light because Mendenhall did another strange thing the other day: Announced he was retiring from the game, at age 26, after six NFL seasons. In a blog post he authored for the Huffington Post, Mendenhall said he has grown weary of the game, of being a private person who had to lead a very public life, of sacrificing his body for entertainment. He said he wants to live, to be free and to write – the latter another odd admission from a player who gave new meaning to dull when interviewed in the locker room.

But I will say this for Mendenhall: He gained some new-found admiration from me with this passage in his blog post:

“What was more difficult for me to grasp was the way that the business of entertainment had really shifted the game and the sport of football in the NFL. The culture of football now is very different from the one I grew up with. When I came up, teammates fought together for wins and got respect for the fight. The player who gave the ball to the referee after a touchdown was commended; the one who played through injury was tough; the role of the blocking tight end was acknowledged; running backs who picked up blitzing linebackers showed heart; and the story of the game was told through the tape, and not the stats alone. That was my model of football.

“Today, game-day cameras follow the most popular players on teams; guys who dance after touchdowns are extolled on Dancing With the Starters; games are analyzed and brought to fans without any use of coaches tape; practice non-participants are reported throughout the week for predicted fantasy value; and success and failure for skill players is measured solely in stats and fantasy points. This is a very different model of football than the one I grew up with.

“My older brother coaches football at the high-school and youth level. One day he called me and said, “These kids don't want to work hard. All they wanna do is look cool, celebrate after plays, and get more followers on Instagram!" I told him that they might actually have it figured out.”

Mendenhall has that figured out. And I, for one, concur.

-30-