Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas, back at work on Thursday a day after being sent home for showing up late, met with the media regarding the situation.
Per Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald, Thomas said he was “dumbfounded” by the decision to send him and three tardy teammates home.
“I wish I could give you some answers,” Thomas said. “I really do. I don’t know. I mean, you’re told to call and you call, you get sent home.”
But that’s not what former Pats tight end Christian Fauria told Tom Curran of Comcast on Wednesday. “Bill used to say, ‘It’s New England. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to get here,” Fauria said. “And that doesn’t mean you can call 10 minutes before 8 and tell me you’ll be late. Regardless of what time you’re supposed to be here, leave time for inclement weather.’”
Thomas also seemed to be frustrated by the perception that the team cares only about whether the player will be there on time, and not why he might not be there on time.
“I mean, I could have been in the ditch,” Thomas said. “They really don’t give a damn, honestly. Hey, as long as you ain’t in the meeting, they really don’t give a [expletive].”
None of the other three players who were sent home -- Derrick Burgess, Randy Moss, and Gary Guyton -- have spoken publicly about the situation.
And what can they say? They get paid huge money to do something that kids and young men throughout the country do for free. They don’t have to scrub toilets, they don’t have to deal with dirty plates, they don’t have to contend with rude customers who can’t seem to understand the phrase “we’re out of those right now,” and they don’t have to face anything else that goes along with having a real job.
Like those of us who have a real job (and I freely admit I’m no longer one of them), these men were held accountable for not following simple rules like “show up for work on time.” So the best approach moving forward would be to say nothing at all about it.
And to show up for work on time.