_“Hey Glazers, help me get a gig with Pat McAfee so I can holler every week for Lavonte David. This disrespect for him is out of hand. Jiminy Christmas!”_
When Joe hears clowns in national media rattle off the game’s best linebackers but omit perhaps the guy with the biggest resume, Lavonte David, it makes Joe want to throw things.
And it seems the way David gets the back of the hand from so many nationally, it roasts a former Bucs coach who will have his name restored to the Bucs Ring of Honor.
David sat down with Chucky, who guided the Bucs to their first Super Bowl title, in his lair for a [film breakdown and football chat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeT7pghOgWM) recently. _Barstool Sports_, which Chucky now works for, uploaded the video late Friday afternoon. It’s about an hour-long video with the two talking ball and breaking down film.
Joe believes David is the most underrated player in the NFL. But Chucky thinks it’s a bit more sinister than “underrated.” Chucky referred to David constantly being overlooked or ignored as disrespect.
> “You know, nobody really knows what you’ve done in football,” Chucky told David. “I’m convinced you’re the most disrespected linebacker in the league.
>
> “How many Pro Bowls Have you been to?”
David smiled and said, “Only one.” This lit up Chucky.
> “That’s stupid!” Chucky barked. “That’s insane!”
Now Chucky admitted the Pro Bowl is a joke these days. But still, it’s a “game” (?) that recognizes the league’s best. You can sure bet the players get a nice bonus for being named to the useless event, too. Yet annually, David gets stiff-armed.
> “I know they’re playing flag football, throwing frisbees at the Pro Bowl,” Chucky said. “But for you to not be in more Pro Bowls after all you’ve done?
>
> “Yeah, it makes me sick!”
Joe wants to barf, too. It’s just outrageous, and frankly, unethical the way David has been shafted year after year after year. It’s almost like people have a vendetta against David, but how could they? He’s a nice guy. He’s a model citizen and always cooperative. So that can’t be it.
Joe guesses that so many folks are programmed to think linebackers are like Lawrence Taylor or, in modern terms, T.J. Watt, and are always supposed to rush the passer. That’s not David’s responsibility, and Joe guesses he suffers for that.
Joe really doesn’t know what the Bucs are supposed to do. The only thing Joe can think of is if Team Glazer orders the Bucs front office or media relations department to hold a brief orientation whenever out-of-town media types show up, including national network talking heads as well as reporters when they come to town, pointing out David’s Hall of Fame-level accomplishments.
Simple printouts clearly aren’t delivering the message.
Joe does know for a fact the Bucs send out a PDF file/link with every sort of stat and pieces of information about the team and all the players each week during the season. Obviously, that hasn’t been enough over the years to educate the Fourth Estate about David.
Yeah, a brief orientation each week would be a pain in the neck for some. Might even p!ss off the reporters and backfire for David. Sadly, when there are gross injustices, it takes effort to correct them.
Since he’s now in the good graces of the NFL, slip Dave Portnoy a handful of C-notes to get him to hold one of his famous “emergency podcasts” and let him rail for five minutes or so about how David is taking it up the backside with disrespect. That will get the message seen and heard.
At the very least, the Bucs need to go on a very high-profile marketing campaign for David. There ought to be billboards with David’s likeness up and down Dale Mabry Highway so out-of-town media couldn’t miss his image when going to games or One Buc Palace.
If you have to build a life-sized figurine for the guy and put it at the baggage claim at Tampa International Airport like Pittsburgh has in its airport for Franco Harris in order to get David’s profile out there, then do it.
Suits at One Buc Palace ought to put their minds together to hatch some sort of plan. Whining periodically to a reporter or a dopey national morning show here or there about how David is ignored isn’t working, or at least not working well enough. Something stronger and much bigger should be planned and executed.
For what he has done for the Bucs franchise, David deserves the extra effort and support.