War of the Redskins: LaVar Arrington Unleashes on Clinton Portis

LaVar Arrington

Former Washington Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington unleashed the fury on Clinton Portis during his Washington DC radio show Tuesday.

Arrington was steamed over comments Portis made about him on the NFL Network recently where he said Arrington left the Redskins because “he felt like he wasn’t the main money guy.” Translation… “He left Washington because he wasn’t as big of a star as I was.”

Unfortunately for Portis, who has quickly gone from beloved by the Redskins fans to just another irritating NFL mouth piece, Arrington has a platform to respond in a big way on 106.7 The Fan.

But the rebuttal was more than just a tirade against the running back. It was about the future of football and how players like Portis are killing the game with their antics, selfishness, immaturity and ego.

The once great running back has seen his productivity fizzle over time and many attribute that to his lackluster work ethic and milking injuries.

“For the same injury that a man stayed out four weeks for, how short our memories are, I had the same injury,” Arrington said in his rant. “Knocked unconscious in a game. Went in the locker room, got myself together, and oh yeah, I came back out and intercepted a ball against the Carolina Panthers and got a touchdown that some would say helped turn that season around, where we won eight games straight. A concussion. That’s what I was diagnosed with, a concussion.

“I came out and I strapped up and I played. I played. And I played for the fans of D.C., and I played for my teammates, and I played and I led as a leader. Not with my mouth. With my actions. That is the message. That is the message. Don’t try to talk your way to where you want to be.”

He then defined what a leader was, saying that it was your actions not your words that make you one. And you know what? He was right.

“And this is what I want you young kids that are listening to understand, it’s your work ethic. It’s your ability to make somebody better. It’s your ability to believe not only in yourself but in others that you are going to war with. It’s when you go into the weight room when you’re not even supposed to be in the weight room. It’s when you bring people with you. It’s when people around you accept the fact that there is something different about you, that can take me in a place that I would want to go. And people follow. That’s what a leader is. That’s what you should strive for. That’s what you wrap your mind around.

“I was a great leader when I played for this team. I don’t care what anybody says. I was a great leader because I was a great follower. Understand what I’m telling you, the message that I’m sending right now is for someone who will be a great leader in the future, because somebody wasn’t sitting here trying to go back and forth about minute situations, minute issues but representing us wrong, representing the football players of the National Football League wrong, representing the Washington Redskins wrong.”

Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Bog has a lot more including a transcript and link to the full 18 minute audio clip.