Bob Smizik: Steeler Way Works Again and Again

Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As sappy as this sounds, and this is so syrupy sweet it might sicken anyone with a cynical bone in his body, there's no denying the Hines Ward holdout and its kiss-and-make-up ending is proof again that the Steeler Way works.

What had the face of an ugly confrontation that no less than Jerome Bettis said could affect the team's entire player-owner relationship ended in a convincing victory for the Steeler Way. It was convincing not because Ward ended his holdout Monday and will report to training camp today, but because it ended with the player involved having that ever-so-famous smile plastered across his face.

Ward reports to the Steelers with no guarantee his contract wishes will be met and with the possibility -- the one that faces every NFL player -- that his career could be wiped out in some meaningless training camp or exhibition-game hit, which would leave him with lifetime football earnings of 10 cents less than a dime.

The beauty of the Steeler Way is that Ward didn't have to come crawling back. He came back a hero. The Steelers gave him the floor Monday night in the Heinz Field conference room to present his side of the story. Neither Dan Rooney, nor Art Rooney II, nor Kevin Colbert were there. Ward told his story, and, as he can do, won over the crowd of reporters and won over the Steeler Nation, which was listening in rapt attention.

When Ward said, "I want to retire a Steeler," even those fans who had spoken and written bitterly of his greed were totally forgiving.

What made this scenario all the more dazzling was that it came about an hour before the Steelers would kick off to the Philadelphia Eagles, a team embroiled in an ugly contract disagreement with its No. 1 wide receiver.

The Steeler Way never would permit a player of Terrell Owens' propensity for creating distractions to be a member of the team. No matter how dire their need for a wide receiver might be, the Steelers never would take on the trouble that Owens can bring.

The Eagles knew this and gambled. Now, they're losing. Sure, they got to the Super Bowl and almost won it with Owens last season. Some teams might consider that worth the risk. Not the Steelers. It's not the Steeler Way.

This wasn't always the manner in which the Steelers did business. Art Rooney, the Chief, didn't enter the NFL with a concrete tablet on which the Steeler Way was engraved. Nor did he hand over any specific directive to his son, Dan. What he did bequeath Dan was an uncanny amount of common sense, a large passel of humility and great understanding of the human condition. With those attributes and through trial and error, the Rooneys learned the best way to do business.

Bill Cowher learned, too. Early in his tenure, several players became disruptive in the locker room he had inherited from Chuck Noll. Two of them, defensive lineman Donald Evans and tight end Adrian Cooper, were ordinary players and were gone after Cowher's second season. A third, Pro Bowl tight end Eric Green, left via free agency after Cowher's third season when the Steelers decided his baggage wasn't worth the talent he brought to the table.

There have been mistakes along the way and there will continue to be. No way is foolproof. Some might regard Plaxico Burress as one of those mistakes. That's not true. Burress, despite his flakiness and easy drift toward trouble, wasn't a bad guy. Maybe in a lesser locker room, Burress could have been a distraction, could have been something approaching an Owens. But in a locker room where Bettis, Ward, Alan Faneca and Joey Porter hold key leadership roles, any dark side there might have been to Burress never was permitted to surface.

There is no right or wrong to Ward's contract squabble with the Steelers, as much as some might want to place blame. That's especially true considering no one knows the figures being exchanged. Ward is entitled to his opinion of his value, the Steelers are entitled to theirs. In other sports, arbitrators can make a decision in some contract disputes. Football doesn't have arbitration, which means, people being people, there always will be differences of opinion -- especially over money.

Nor is this a matter of greed as so many have tried to portray it. Ward is no more guilty of being greedy by seeking what he believes he's worth than the Steelers are by trying to hang on to as much of their money as they can.

It's a dispute common to professional sports. Some, like the one between Owens and the Eagles, turn ugly. Others do not. Doing things the Steeler Way allows for a greater chance of the latter than the former.

(Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1468.)