Time to Distance Ourselves from Braylon Edwards

Submitted by Mercury Hayes on

There was a time, where I was as big of a Braylon Edwards fan as anyone else, but since he has left UM he has done very little to be a pillar of the community or role model for the University and football team. Instead, his actions reflect poorly on the team. This weekend, his negative Tweets about the specific performance of certain players - and telling other players to get off social media put me over the edge.

Here's a recap of what Braylon has done since leaving UM:

  • 2006-2008 defies Browns coaches, has sideline tirade before being traded to Jets
  • 2008 Gets drunk with Donte Stalworth, lets Stalworth drive home from Miami nightcliub - that was the night Stalworth struck and killed a pedestrian
  • 2008 caught and ticketed for driving 120 MPH (passenger at the time was covered in vomit)
  • 2009, punches a friend of LeBron James at a nightclub
  • 2010, received a DUI and blew a .16
  • 2011 started nightclub fight at South in Birmingham, MI. Stabbed a bus boy.
  • May 2015, arrested for extreme DUI in Scottsdale
  • 2013-2017 complains publicly about Michigan's use of the No. 1 jersey, not signing his brother and most recently trashing players on Twitter
  • Additionally, it is alleged he was fired from 97.1 the Ticket recently for showing up to work drunk. 

Braylon clearly has some alcohol issues. This is a sad thing for someone who was once on top of the world and had never realized his NFL talent. But, that's on him to get his personal problems fixed before telling the Michigan programs and players to do. He makes the entire team and fan base look bad. I'm sick of hearing about his hot takes, I'm sick of hearing him on the radio (hopefully I won't again). I 

I realize this thread does more to bring his name and actions to light, but my only purpose is this: next time he goes on Twitter and starts bashing our struggling players I encourage the MgoBlog community to tell him he's wrong, much like myself and others did this weekend. While I share frustration about certain players this season, there is a big difference between me yelling at my TV and going on the Internet to complain on Twitter. End rant.

 

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Jasper

November 20th, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^

Braylon is .....

 

  • ..... one of the all-time UMich greats on the field. Need someone to high-point a ball or bail out the QB with an insane catch radius? You couldn't do much better.
  • ..... often an embarrassment off the field. That's what we're talking about here. Distancing ourselves from him wouldn't diminish what he accomplished on the field.

Joined: 12/30/2010

MGoPoints: 3591

Retnep

November 20th, 2017 at 12:11 PM ^

I love it (no, I don't really) when people include the collective in their own thoughts. If you disagree with something someone says, maybe you should distance yourself. I follow BE on twitter, he's not a fan of JOK. I don't have a problem with that. I can't even hold a grudge against BE because he's never done anything to me. Disagree with something he says/does, fine, but that's on you. Don't put it one everyone. 

Joined: 09/03/2010

MGoPoints: 226

DrMantisToboggan

November 20th, 2017 at 12:11 PM ^

He definitely has issues. He's an ass and a drunk and fool. He's decently distanced from Michigan, however. He's bitter because Jim isn't bringing him around and Braylon feels as though he should be. His actions certainly aren't going to get him more involved with the program. I think the best plan is just let Braylon be Braylon. Acting the way he does, his life will fall apart on its own and the distance between Michigan and him will grow naturally.

Joined: 11/26/2014

MGoPoints: 74183

mGrowOld

November 20th, 2017 at 12:12 PM ^

In 2009 He "allegedly" got into a bar fight here in Cleveland and punched a 5"7" dude in the face a 2:00am  cause he was jealous of Lebron James success here in the city

https://dawgpounddaily.com/2009/10/07/braylon-edwards-punches-lebron-ja…

He definitely has issues.

For my money I've never totally gotten over the whole "Lloyd Carr's University of Michigan" player intro.  That was complete bullshit IMO too.

 

 

Joined: 10/04/2010

MGoPoints: 213297

BigBlue02

November 20th, 2017 at 2:25 PM ^

Yeah, he made it cool to shit on the team when they were down. Shortly after that, a bunch of Monday Night Football intros had Michigan grads saying which high school they went to. Just trashy

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: -1003

Braylon_Edward…

November 20th, 2017 at 12:14 PM ^

Maybe it's just me, but separating Braylon Edwards the football player at Michigan and Braylon Edwards the person is pretty easy. One is mostly good, one I do not care for anymore (especially after the O'Korn comment).

Joined: 07/27/2014

MGoPoints: 2069

JTGoBlue

November 20th, 2017 at 12:15 PM ^

Seems when you see this happening with a person in the public eye, you hope they can turn it around. Lots of examples of good people with bad judgment with alcohol.

Let's not abandon our fellow wolverines, however.

Joined: 08/31/2009

MGoPoints: 4536

Glennsta

November 20th, 2017 at 2:40 PM ^

What exactly am i personally supposed to do to "distance" myself from the man? Turn off the radio when/if he is on? Or call in and give him grief about drinking and poor behavior? If he gets mentioned on a blog page about his athletic successes, do I post something along the lines of "yeah but he has addictions"?

People can make and broadcast their own moral judgments as they see fit. They always seem to.

Joined: 01/28/2011

MGoPoints: 4889

Maynard

November 20th, 2017 at 12:25 PM ^

I don't think he needed to kick JOK while he was down and certainly not publicly as Twitter is. 

That being said, where is this allegation of him getting fired for being drunk? I have not seen that anywhere.

Also, in my opinion I think on the substance in the tweets he was right. JOK is horrible and has been. It's not a stretch to question that scholarship and point out the miss on that decision.

Joined: 02/19/2016

MGoPoints: 9888

BoFan

November 20th, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^

How is this on Harbaugh? He had to scramble for decent QBs when he started. The first one he developed further was Rudock. I think that worked out quite nicely. Jake would back up how much he learned after arriving in AA. Then Harbaugh developed Al Borges recruit through the meritocracy. And Wilton has probably exceeded expectations. Peters, who wasn’t originally a Harbaugh recruit, is looking good. But not all recruits pan out. JK seems to be one of those. You cant fault Harbaugh. But also, no one should be insulting JK. He’s not done yet. And in the words of the great Bo, we need to support him and encourage him. And on that note BE is the opposite of a Michigan Wolverine. He should be banished.

Joined: 03/09/2012

MGoPoints: 20004

Glennsta

November 20th, 2017 at 2:21 PM ^

But it was not a bad decision at the time. People here were elated at the time because we were terrified of the prospect of Morris or Speight starting.  Rudock and O'Korn looked like way better options.

In spite of what the sports-talkers say, the QB's have developed pretty well under JH.  Rudock worked out terrifically well, Speight was working out way better than anyone expected and Peters has been working out well in spite of a bad OL.  O'Korn is the only guy who hasn't panned out and part of his skittishness and happy feet may be attributable to lousy pass protection.

Joined: 01/28/2011

MGoPoints: 4889

WorldwideTJRob

November 20th, 2017 at 2:39 PM ^

How is this on Harbaugh? Easy, Stevie Wonder could see JOK had no business playing in front of Peters in the first place. Instead we got stories about how big of a bust he was. Fast forward a month, and the kid played with poise beyond his years in Madison and looks to be a 3 year starter at Michigan. If you do not want to blame him for giving him a scholarship then that’s fine...but he rightfully can be criticized for sticking with him or even playing him this season at all.

Joined: 07/05/2010

MGoPoints: 31149

copacetic

November 20th, 2017 at 12:48 PM ^

You think he's correct to question Harbaugh's decision 2.5 years ago to bring in JOK as a transfer when we badly needed QB depth? 

 

Just because it didn't pan out, asking a rehtorical question about why our 3rd string QB has a scholarship doesn't seem like great substance to me.

Joined: 01/10/2013

MGoPoints: 13689

robpollard

November 20th, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^

http://detroitsportsrag.com/braylon-edwards-out-at-97-1-the-ticket/

Take it for what it's worth. In support of this, I don't see any record of Braylon being on 97.1 since this alleged incident, but then again, I don't listen to the station so perhaps he has.

But, for example, he appeared regularly on Valenti's show through October; since then, he hasn't.

http://podcast.radio.com/audio/the-valenti-show/

Joined: 06/03/2009

MGoPoints: 14005

mgobaran

November 20th, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^

If all JOK did this year was preserve Dylan McCaffrey's redshirt, he is worth the scholarship. But that isn't the case. O'Korn single handedly won the Purdue game (our best win of the year). He provided stiffer competition for both the starting and back up job. He is a better option than Malzone or a walk on. As a third string QB, you couldn't ask for much more. 

Joined: 09/12/2012

MGoPoints: 22811

Maynard

November 20th, 2017 at 1:09 PM ^

Disagree. He lost the job at Houston for a reason. Sorry. Is what it is. He isn't good. I don't give a shit about conserving redshirts, expecially for guys who are likely to see the NFL (McCaffrey may). So no, I don't think he was worth the scholarship. And I don't know he is better than Malzone because I have never seen Malzone play a game.

Joined: 02/19/2016

MGoPoints: 9888

MGoRob

November 20th, 2017 at 12:57 PM ^

http://detroitsportsrag.com/braylon-edwards-out-at-97-1-the-ticket/

"According to my source, Edwards showed up for a live remote broadcast at Hockeytown Cafe in an inebriated state and had some sort of run-in with Pat Caputo. 

The details are sketchy — and I am attempting to get more information — but I am told that at some point Edwards had to be coaxed out of the broadcast location by Valenti (who was also in the building) and then when Edwards attempted to return Valenti had to physically block the former Cleveland Browns player from entering.

It’s a bizarre situation to say the least. From what I am told, Edwards was doing some work as a U of M “insider” and appeared on the station’s NFL pregame show on Sunday."

[Update: Another source has advised me that 97.1 execs told Edwards that he could only keep his gig if he agreed to a drug test. He refused. It was the belief of the station that he was under the influence of narcotics.]

Joined: 03/14/2010

MGoPoints: 4429

OaklandInPlay

November 20th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^

but come on cut him some slack, just because this is his alma mater doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an opinion. I’m sure plenty of other fans are wondering why John Okorn was brought here.

Joined: 03/04/2015

MGoPoints: 2502

robpollard

November 20th, 2017 at 1:10 PM ^

If you or I said something wrong on Twitter, no one would care.

But if an all-time great insults our head coach and current QB? What possible good does that lead to?

He should know better, and frequently has shown he doesn't. It would be sad, if it weren't so pathetic.

Joined: 06/03/2009

MGoPoints: 14005

robpollard

November 20th, 2017 at 2:23 PM ^

If this were a one-off incident, it might be excusable. It is not.

He has been publicly acting like petulant child for close to a decade when it comes to U of M. That's leaving aside his horrible behavior off the field (e.g., drunk driving; getting in bar fights).

We are all well aware JOK is not the best option; that's why he's on the 3rd string. If Braylon feels compelled to share that brilliant insight, he can do it with his friends; stating it in an insulting, public way with no real analysis (e.g., what teams currently have better 3rd string options -- Florida? FSU? Maryland? Nope) is clown behavior.
 

Joined: 06/03/2009

MGoPoints: 14005

robpollard

November 20th, 2017 at 1:04 PM ^

I'm all for getting him help, if that's what is needed (and it seems like it might be, if reports of him being booted from 97.1 due to him showing up intoxicated at work are true).

But it's not just one tweet (though that was bad enough). He's been a loudmouthed, uniformed critic for years now, and tends to focus on exactly the *opposite* of THE TEAM, THE TEAM, THE TEAM. He seems to be getting worse, not better.

With that in mind, him continuing to not have any official or even unofficial role with the UM program is a good idea; I'd be fine if Harbaugh (directly or indirectly) told Braylon to jam it during his press conference this week. As far as UM fans, I don't know what "distance" means in that case, but ignoring him (when possible) and telling him to shut his big yapper (when not) is a good idea.

Joined: 06/03/2009

MGoPoints: 14005