The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
McAdoo to revisit DRC suspension
Giants coach Ben McAdoo said on Friday that he will review and revisit the indefinite suspension of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie “at the beginning of next week,” leaving open the possibility that the cornerback could return to the Giants at that point.
Rodgers-Cromartie was suspended for “violating team rules,” a discipline that took effect on Wednesday when he left the team’s facility after learning he would be benched for the upcoming game against the Broncos.
“There was a lot that went into it,” McAdoo said on Friday. “We like to handle things in-house on a case-by-case basis and not broadcast it.”
Even in-house, however, the broadcast is being quelled.
As of Friday morning, Rodgers-Cromartie had been suspended by the Giants for 48 hours and McAdoo had yet to discuss the situation with the rest of the team. He said he would talk to them about it “at an appropriate time.”
Why not on Wednesday, when the situation came to a head?
“The timing of the matters played a factor,” McAdoo said. “When we report to (practice on) Wednesday our sole focus is getting ready for the next opponent. Because timing was an issue in this situation, the players will be addressed and kept in the loop at the appropriate time.”
Why not Thursday then? By the time the team took the practice field on Thursday, McAdoo had already met with Rodgers-Cromartie and decided to levy the “indefinite” suspension. He could have told them about it, and his reasons for it, after practice.
“Timing and details were an issue,” McAdoo said. “If you are going to speak on an issue you want to make sure that you have all the details.”
Instead the players have been left to learn about the situation through locker room whispers and media reports.
On Tuesday, McAdoo had decided to bench Rodgers-Cromartie for the Broncos game after he left the field in the second half of the game against the Chargers. McAdoo admitted on Friday that he had no plans of sharing that plan with the public until the game. When Rodgers-Cromartie left the building and was suspended, the Giants had to address the situation.
“We don’t like to put people’s business out in how we handle our disciplinary issues,” he said. “We don’t feel that helps us as a football team. Holding guys accountable is important, but we need to handle that in-house as much as we possibly can. In this case we didn’t feel that was an option.”