Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
ROB REISCHEL
Release of Josh Sitton brings silence from Packers
Green Bay — Silence can be many things.
Golden. Deafening. Deadly. It can even be a virtue.
In the NFL’s smallest city, though, silence is the norm. And truth be told, it’s a rather insulting way for general manager Ted Thompson and president Mark Murphy to be conducting business.
The Packers remain one of the more unique stories in sports, “owned” by more than 360,000 shareholders who possess roughly 5 million shares of stock. Granted, there is no monetary value in the stocks. But on five different occasions through team history, the Packers held stock sales during times of financial need.
Stock sales in 1923, 1935 and 1950 helped bail the Packers out of extreme financial debt. A fourth stock sale in 1997 raised slightly more than $24 million for the Lambeau Field redevelopment project. A fifth stock sale in 2011 raised a remarkable $67.4 million for the expansion of Lambeau Field.
For more than 90 years, when things got tough, the Packers held out their hands looking for public support. Each and every time, their adoring fans / owners opened up their wallets and gave what was needed.
Today, though, Green Bay’s “leaders” seem to have forgotten much of that.
No team in professional football is shrouded in greater secrecy than the modern-day Packers. No organization operates more like the FBI than the one in Green Bay.
The message is simple. We’ll gladly take your money, but don’t expect your favorite charity to ever let you behind the curtain.
The latest example of Green Bay’s clandestine approach came with the release of guard Josh Sitton on Sept. 3.
In NFL cities everywhere, general managers assembled their final 53-man rosters, then met the media to tell their fan base the how and why of the process. The GMs rarely divulge family secrets. They don’t need to.
But they do need to let the paying customers feel as if they’re more than walking checkbooks.
In Green Bay, Thompson made the stunning move of releasing Sitton, then vanished back into his bunker. In the nearly two weeks since, Thompson hasn’t addressed the matter publicly.
Instead, Thompson forced head coach Mike McCarthy to do his work for him two days later. And while toeing the company line, McCarthy said little or nothing when asked 10 specific questions about the firing of Sitton.
“I think anytime you make decisions, you have to look at everything that’s involved,” McCarthy said. “I’m not going to sit here and go through every variable, every component of our program, but each player is evaluated.”
When Bob Harlan became the Packers president in 1989, he vowed to let the football people tackle football issues, while he largely handled the business side of the sport. Harlan, a former public relations director at Marquette University and with the St. Louis Cardinals, hired terrific people such as general manager Ron Wolf and let him do his job.
Today, Murphy operates under the same principles. Thompson and the football people do their thing, while Murphy spends much of his time overseeing Green Bay’s new “Titletown District.” There is one big difference, though. Wolf was available, accessible and willing to talk after every move he made — good or bad. It’s the only way Harlan — a man who answered his own phone until the day he retired in 2007 — would have had it.
“It’s important that we never forget that we work for the people and the shareholders that own this football team,” Harlan said in a 2004 interview with Packer Plus. “That’s one of the big reasons I still answer my own phone.
“I like to avoid all the confusion of going through secretaries if people are trying to reach me. And secondly, I feel like I owe the fans that. I think since these people own this team, if they want to reach me, they should be able to do so. I don’t want them saying, ‘Well, you can’t find Harlan.’ Well, yes you can.”
Today, you can rarely find Thompson. Murphy isn’t much easier to locate.
The NFL mandates that Thompson speaks to the media once a week during training camp. Thompson, an introvert of epic proportions, seems largely un- comfortable during these gatherings and says next to nothing.
That’s certainly his right. At least he’s available to discuss his team.
Once camp ends, Thompson vanishes from the public eye. And when he’s asked to discuss controversial moves such as the release of Sitton, he typically has a public relations person decline the offer.
Murphy clearly has Thompson’s back during this game of “duck the press,” something Harlan never would have stood for. Packer Plus asked Murphy to discuss Thompson’s game of hide-and-seek last week, and he declined.
Everyone understands the NFL is a big business. And yes, there can be a competitive disadvantage in saying too much.
At times, though, the paying customers demand answers. And corporate leaders shouldn’t go into hiding.
In Green Bay, though, that’s the norm right now. And if you listen closely enough, you can hear the silence.