chris thomas on news

[stinger1]

man i just saw the report on the news and chris was on there talking about the secrets and lies surrounding the stingers.....said he was cut for saying there was lack of equiptment, etc. and that players were not being paid. coach miller said he was cut for lack of ability and he was being dominated at his position.

chris i understand why you are upset and you did what you thought you had to do....but as a "big picture" if you want tihs game to hang around for the fans, this was not good to do....the media hates indoor football and to get any info like this they will eat it up.....chris this was to let the community know what happened to you, but this did'nt help at all with keeping indoor ball here in columbia.

[stinger1]

chris, what were you trying to accomplish by telling the media these things? you gonna sue the team? i think it was a terrible decision to do this....just made things worse for the community and keeping football here.....you are cut, you don't play for the stingers anymore...so be it....go play elsewhere.....you just stirred the pile and man does it stink now....thanks for nothing there buddy.

[mrbee]

I gotta agree with Stinger1.

The message board was never the place to discuss those kinds of matters and any company would have reacted the same.

By going to the news, you may have appeased your friends and family, but you have done a disservice to the fans of arena football in Columbia.

But that's alright, the Stingers WILL WIN on Wednesday and I have many personal contacts in the media that I'm going to encourage to come to the game on Wednesday to film the TURN AROUND AND REBIRTH OF THE COLUMBIA STINGERS!

This team and sport will move on in Columbia so be there Wednesday to witness the Phoenix rising from the ashes!

And for the record, you can't say that the offensive line played well in the first three games as they didn't so Coach Miller's comment that you were dominated at your position is in fact the truth.

[ncxcstud]

Mrbee...don't forget... Meredith didn't get sacked as many times as he did in the first game (I think it was two or three times) and there was only one bad snap that truly caused any damage..

[stinger1]

chris, look you went on the news to please yourself and your family.....coach miller was right, you were dominated....DOMINATED....at your position the first game.....now why you got released? i don't know. but you were not a good player....sorry to hurt the feelings big guy but in this game you have to be quick....you were not....thats just the facts.

[stingercenter]

STINGER 1. A FEW DAYS AGO YOU WERE DEFENDING ME. THATS COOL MAN EVERYONE IS INTITLED TO THERE OWN OPINION. BUT FIRST YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. 1) WIS CALLED ME. I WAS SITTING IN THE CAR DEALERSHIP YESTERDAY AND MY PHONE RANG AND GUESS WHO? JACK KENSEY. SO OBVIOUSLY THEY HAVE AN INSIDE SOURCE. 2) SUE THE TEAM? FOR WHAT? ALL THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THE "FRANCHISE" HAS RIGHT? COME ON MAN, I THOUGHT YOU WERE SMARTER THAN THAT. YOU SUPOSIDLY FOLLOW THIS LEAUGE AND THE SANDSHARKS. YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAT THAT. 3) DOMINATION? BY WHO? YEAH I GOT BEAT A FEW TIMES. WHO DOESN'T? IT'S FOOTBALL. HAVE YOU ACTUALLY WATCHED THE GAME ON TWC? AND SLOW? DON'T THINK SO YOU MUST BE WATCHING SOMEONES ELSE. 4) HURTING INDOOR FOOTBALL IN COLA? WELL IF THATS WHAT HAPPENS THATS A SHAME. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I WANTED TO DO IN MY LIFE. I GOT TIRED OF ALL THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS ON HERE SO I TOLD THE TRUTH AND LOOK WHERE IT GOT ME. THIS WAS TAKEN FROM ME. MY INTENTIONS ARE NOT TO HURT MY TEAMATES OR THE ORGANIZATION. JUST TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT CONDITIONS WEREN'T SAFE WITH NO EQUIPMENT. AND AS FAR AS WANTING TO GET ON TV, NO I HAVE BEEN THERE IN MANY GAMES. AND MONEY WELL I WENT TO COLLEGE AND I HAVE A JOB. SO I DONT NEED IT. BUT WHEN PRACTICE ISN'T SAFE? I NEED TO SPEEK UP.

[stingercenter]

AND AS FAR AS THE BAD SNAPS, YEAH I'LL BE THE FIRST ONE TO SAY MY SHOTGUN SNAP ARE TERRIBLE. BUT THATS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU TAKE A GUY THAT HAS PLAYED GUARD ALL HIS LIFE AND PUT HIM AT CENTER FOR 2 WEEKS. NOT TO MENTION WE NEVER PRACTICED IN GUN, THE FIRST GAME 2ND HALF THEY JUST DECIDED TO PUT IT IN THERE. SO I DID THE BEST WITH WHAT I HAD....

[redzone]

stingercenter said:

1) WIS CALLED ME. I WAS SITTING IN THE CAR DEALERSHIP YESTERDAY AND MY PHONE RANG AND GUESS WHO? JACK KENSEY. SO OBVIOUSLY THEY HAVE AN INSIDE SOURCE. 2) SUE THE TEAM? FOR WHAT? ALL THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THE "FRANCHISE" HAS RIGHT? COME ON MAN, I THOUGHT YOU WERE SMARTER THAN THAT. YOU SUPOSIDLY FOLLOW THIS LEAUGE AND THE SANDSHARKS. YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAT THAT. 3) DOMINATION? BY WHO? YEAH I GOT BEAT A FEW TIMES. WHO DOESN'T? IT'S FOOTBALL. 4) HURTING INDOOR FOOTBALL IN COLA? WELL IF THATS WHAT HAPPENS THATS A SHAME. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I WANTED TO DO IN MY LIFE. I GOT TIRED OF ALL THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS ON HERE SO I TOLD THE TRUTH AND LOOK WHERE IT GOT ME. THIS WAS TAKEN FROM ME. MY INTENTIONS ARE NOT TO HURT MY TEAMATES OR THE ORGANIZATION. JUST TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT CONDITIONS WEREN'T SAFE WITH NO EQUIPMENT. AND AS FAR AS WANTING TO GET ON TV, NO I HAVE BEEN THERE IN MANY GAMES. AND MONEY WELL I WENT TO COLLEGE AND I HAVE A JOB. SO I DONT NEED IT. BUT WHEN PRACTICE ISN'T SAFE? I NEED TO SPEEK UP.

1 - Didn't see the news report, but if Jack Kenzie called, then it was a news story, not a sports story. I don't think he would have called if he didn't have info to follow up on, no matter what source it came from.
2 - About the only thing you could sue for (if you chose to) is for money they owe you for the games you have played. You would have to decide if taking the time off from work to file the suit & trial is really worth it.
3 - Haven't had a chance to see a game so can't really comment on the domination part. A guy that has played guard all his career and then get thrown in at center is a different world though. Sounds like Chris was willing to do whatever it took to get a roster spot and help out the team. He must have been the best one to have played center or someone else would have been at that position. Another reason for domination is the blocking scheme. If the wrong scheme is chosen, you can be made to look like a fool.
4 - Can one person who was cut from a team really effect the future of indoor football in Columbia? I don't think so. While it may look simple on paper, some of the things that will add to the success is having credible owners and management, being in a league that has it's stuff together, having a season that starts in early February and ends sometime in late May or June (that way it doesn't interfere with all the outdoor activities the south is famous for).

Chris, I commend you for standing up and letting information be known on the program. If this same thing happened in the NFL or AFL, things might be different. You might have had more members of the media taking note and stating your case, thus trying to make things better as a whole. You could have still been cut no matter what the coach's reasoning is. When a team is struggling, a boss doesn't like a player or asst. coach to expose how the team functions. If you really want to play indoor football, there are other teams close by you could try to get on with (Carolina Speed in Kanapolis, Florence Phantoms - both of the AIFA and the Augusta Spartans of the WIFL). I feel bad things worked out the way they did for you with the Stingers - good luck.

[redzone]

Another quick comment - sometimes no matter how much you want to say something, it's just best to bite your lip. I've learned the hard way too.

[stinger1]

never mind....the team is done.....what you did chris hurt columbias chance at having a team here.....well besides them being in the nifl.....i may have been a little too hard, and i appologize....players should'nt have to be lied too and put at risk....but why did'nt you just walk away? forget about the stingers, don't give comment to media? the media will thrive on your comments and now another cancelled game.....the team will fold in less than a month.