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American Morning

Interview with Michael Silver

Aired September 26, 2002 - 08:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to get to the controversy again that swirls around pro-football superstar Randy Moss, accused of bumping a traffic officer with his car two nights ago.
The Minnesota Vikings receiver charged with a pair of misdemeanors, no felony here. He spent a night in jail on Tuesday night, released yesterday.

Moss was the recent subject of a "Sports Illustrated" cover story, and the writer, Michael Silver, joins us from San Francisco to talk more about Moss -- Michael, good morning to you, and as I say good morning, I understand you have some news about this. What have you learned?

MICHAEL SILVER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, Bill, for the first time that anyone in the Minnesota Vikings organization can remember, Randy Moss said the words, "I'm sorry" yesterday. He said those words to his teammates after practice. He gathered them around, said, I was wrong. It was my mistake. I shouldn't have brought this heat on you.

And I think they expect him to make a public apology today, which would be an even greater sign of progress.

HEMMER: Why is that such a big deal, Michael?

SILVER: Bill, he has just been so defiant. I think that defiance has been what has carried him from a small West Virginia town to great heights in the National Football League, but he just will never admit that anything he has done has been wrong. He doesn't want to show weakness, and here is a case where clearly, he did something stupid.

HEMMER: That was the water bottle squirting at the referee, correct?

SILVER: Yes. See, for example, I talked to him a few weeks ago about that. And he just said, Hey, you know, I hate that referee, and this one referee kept me from the Super Bowl. I want to kill him.

You know, I think he was speaking in an over-the-top manner, but obviously those things don't always translate to America.

HEMMER: You know, Michael, a part of me just says, who cares? I mean, here is a very talented athlete who makes a boat load of money, and if he wants to throw it away, well that is the choice and the decision he makes. SILVER: Yes. Well, the problem is for the equation of pro sports to function correctly, the fan has to believe that the guys who play the game care at least as much as the fans do, and when a player like Randy Moss last year comes out and says, I play when I want to play, and then stands by his statement, I think it threatens the equation that allows sports to function, and so he has now become the poster child for the jerk athlete. We've all suspected that people feel this way, but he's the only one who has enunciated and stood by it.

HEMMER: Michael, you wrote in that article recently that he's trying to improve his image. How did you gauge that, and what did he say about that in terms of addressing you?

SILVER: Well, interestingly within the Vikings team, he is not perceived as much of a jerk as he was in the past. He's perceived as a guy who is trying hard to be a team player, who is trying to give maximum effort, and I think the players still support him.

He said yesterday to the team, Look, my life has been full of turmoil. This is just another day in my life, but I shouldn't have brought that heat on you. So I think there is a sense in the Viking locker room that he is not a negative force.

Obviously, I think everyone in that locker room thinks what he did was stupid, but he has not lost his teammates as of yet.

HEMMER: But when he plays, he can play. He can really turn it on. Michael, thanks. Michael Silver, "Sports Illustrated." Thanks for getting up early in San Francisco.

SILVER: Thanks a lot, Bill.

HEMMER: Pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 26, 2002 - 08:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to get to the controversy again that swirls around pro-football superstar Randy Moss, accused of bumping a traffic officer with his car two nights ago.
The Minnesota Vikings receiver charged with a pair of misdemeanors, no felony here. He spent a night in jail on Tuesday night, released yesterday.

Moss was the recent subject of a "Sports Illustrated" cover story, and the writer, Michael Silver, joins us from San Francisco to talk more about Moss -- Michael, good morning to you, and as I say good morning, I understand you have some news about this. What have you learned?

MICHAEL SILVER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, Bill, for the first time that anyone in the Minnesota Vikings organization can remember, Randy Moss said the words, "I'm sorry" yesterday. He said those words to his teammates after practice. He gathered them around, said, I was wrong. It was my mistake. I shouldn't have brought this heat on you.

And I think they expect him to make a public apology today, which would be an even greater sign of progress.

HEMMER: Why is that such a big deal, Michael?

SILVER: Bill, he has just been so defiant. I think that defiance has been what has carried him from a small West Virginia town to great heights in the National Football League, but he just will never admit that anything he has done has been wrong. He doesn't want to show weakness, and here is a case where clearly, he did something stupid.

HEMMER: That was the water bottle squirting at the referee, correct?

SILVER: Yes. See, for example, I talked to him a few weeks ago about that. And he just said, Hey, you know, I hate that referee, and this one referee kept me from the Super Bowl. I want to kill him.

You know, I think he was speaking in an over-the-top manner, but obviously those things don't always translate to America.

HEMMER: You know, Michael, a part of me just says, who cares? I mean, here is a very talented athlete who makes a boat load of money, and if he wants to throw it away, well that is the choice and the decision he makes. SILVER: Yes. Well, the problem is for the equation of pro sports to function correctly, the fan has to believe that the guys who play the game care at least as much as the fans do, and when a player like Randy Moss last year comes out and says, I play when I want to play, and then stands by his statement, I think it threatens the equation that allows sports to function, and so he has now become the poster child for the jerk athlete. We've all suspected that people feel this way, but he's the only one who has enunciated and stood by it.

HEMMER: Michael, you wrote in that article recently that he's trying to improve his image. How did you gauge that, and what did he say about that in terms of addressing you?

SILVER: Well, interestingly within the Vikings team, he is not perceived as much of a jerk as he was in the past. He's perceived as a guy who is trying hard to be a team player, who is trying to give maximum effort, and I think the players still support him.

He said yesterday to the team, Look, my life has been full of turmoil. This is just another day in my life, but I shouldn't have brought that heat on you. So I think there is a sense in the Viking locker room that he is not a negative force.

Obviously, I think everyone in that locker room thinks what he did was stupid, but he has not lost his teammates as of yet.

HEMMER: But when he plays, he can play. He can really turn it on. Michael, thanks. Michael Silver, "Sports Illustrated." Thanks for getting up early in San Francisco.

SILVER: Thanks a lot, Bill.

HEMMER: Pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com