It seems like the Los Angeles Rams are adjusting well to being in a bigger market.
The Rams are 4-7, at times have been the most unwatchable team in the NFL in their first season back in Los Angeles, and former Rams great Eric Dickerson has criticized them. Again, the Rams are 4-7. All 4-7 NFL teams get criticized, especially in a market as large as L.A.
Dickerson, who has a radio show on 570 AM in Los Angeles, said on the show an unnamed person in Rams “upper management” called him and said he wasn’t welcomed on the Rams’ sideline for games anymore.
“They don’t want me on the sidelines, basically they don’t want me at the games,” Dickerson said. “I was told this. They called me and told me this.”
There’s a lot of unanswered questions about Dickerson’s statements. Does the person who told Dickerson this speak for the organization? Does that person have the power to keep Dickerson off the sideline? Was any of this a miscommunication?
Dickerson didn’t say which Rams official told him he’s not welcomed on the sideline anymore, but Dickerson said it was because his criticism made the players “feel uncomfortable.”
Dickerson said he is frustrated because he still identifies himself as a Los Angeles Ram and the team isn’t playing well.
It seems like there was some mix-up between Dickerson and whoever he talked to. Rams vice president of football operations and chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said on Twitter that Dickerson is still welcomed by the team.
All Rams alumni, and especially @EricDickerson, are always welcome at our games and practices.— Kevin Demoff (@kdemoff) November 28, 2016
I have reached out to Eric to see where a miscommunication may have occurred & to clear up any confusion over his presence at games.— Kevin Demoff (@kdemoff) November 28, 2016
Most importantly I want to make sure he knows that he is a valued member of @RamsNFL family. We all share his love for our team & our fans— Kevin Demoff (@kdemoff) November 28, 2016
Those comments seem to make more sense. But Dickerson was obviously upset on the show, with whoever told him he was making the players uncomfortable with his criticism.
On the show, Dickerson told a story about fumbling three times in a game against the Washington Redskins and getting ripped by the media over it.
“Hey, I agreed with them. I felt like I lost that game,” Dickerson said. “You can’t say anything about the players anymore?”
Dickerson is perhaps the most popular ex-Rams player. He rushed for 2,105 yards with the Rams in 1984, a mark that still stands today. After his comments on the show, Dickerson retweeted dozens of messages to him bashing the Rams over this story.
Dickerson was visible all offseason promoting the Rams, as they returned to Los Angeles after moving in 1995. It would seem like the Rams will move quickly to clear up the whole situation, and Demoff’s tweets seem to be the start of that. The Rams don’t need things getting worse this season.
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