Earlier this week the Houston Texans of the National Football League fired Ryan Mallet. What was his offense? Well, he missed a flight. It turns out he was late to the team meeting on Saturday and then missed the team's charter flight over to Miami, where they were to play the Dolphins. He apparently was…
Continue reading: NFL Quarterback Fired For Missing Flight
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@Travis
Should that not be Das Vaterland? You have been away from the Fatherland for a long time indeed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatherland#Groups_that_refer_to_their_native_country_as_a_.22fatherland.22
A perfectly acceptable reason to fire him. I'm sure there were many other reasons, but its the NFL not some random job. The team travels together and has the quarterback he is supposed to lead the team. If he constantly does this stuff it sets a bad example and encourages others on the team to lose discipline. Without discipline at that level games are lost and these guys get paid a huge amount of money. If he can't make it to the plane and every single other person on the team did, what does that really say about him and his work ethic? By the way he is guaranteed $1.75 million for this year and he was the backup. There are other backups who could do the same job and can do it better and this guy never felt like a team player at all.
Why don't you just stick to avaiation news rather than this rubbish article. I wish I hadn't bothered wasting my time reading this drivel.
It's called being released, not "fired"
I've been an NFL fan for many years, trust me.
@Sam
I don't know why you bothered to read this "drivel" as the title and snippet on the home page gave a pretty clear idea of what you were going to be in for...
I've missed a flight before (TSA's fault, not mine, I swear! :)) and my employer covered the cost of rebooking. But I think that if I had demonstrated a pattern of irresponsibility by missing so many, they would probably "release" me just the same.
Seriously, Travis your contribution to this blog actually drives people away.
Clearly, you're 1) not a football fan 2) barely even a travel blogger.
Maybe you and Mallet should join the same boat together
Great post Travis, thanks!
Only ever missed a flight once, I guess my employer indirectly paid as I was rebooked for free but had to fly into a different city and drive a rental to my destination to make the event at which I was the keynote speaker. About $100 extra for the one-way rental.
Mallett has been terrible this season so i believe missing the flight was just a good excuse to cut him loose. If Aaron Rodgers missed a flight i'm sure the Packers woudl have chartered a plane for him to get to his destination.
@Sam -
1. Read first three paragraphs - 30 seconds (max).
2. Decide if you want to continue.
3. ... I guess that's all.
If the writer hasn't caught you in the first few lines, then either they're a mediocre writer or the article isn't targeted at you. Don't read it.
If you care enough about the site to want to send a message to the owner of the blog, then make it polite ("hey guys, I've been reading since 2010 and this kind of article doesn't appeal to me. I want to see more on xyz").
Beyond that, it's either kind of meaningless, or deliberately provocative.
Your lead is extremely misleading. He wasn't released just for missing a flight. He's repeatedly missed or been late to team practices and meetings. Sure, this is the first trip he's missed with the team, but if you've never been a part of a team/group, then you wouldn't understand and be able to convey the importance placed on being together and acting as a cohesive unit. He has proven himself to be lazy and immature throughout his college and now professional career, and this was just the last straw.
GoBlueTwo -- Ask yourself this, if Mallett hadn't missed that flight, would he be a member of the Texans today? Yes. That seems to me that he was fired for missing the flight. Were there extenuating circumstances? Sure, and I addressed those.
Do a quick google and you'll see that much of the sports universe has a similar headline.
All that said, based on your handle, I'm guessing you have a long history of watching Mallett struggle clear back to his time at TUN.
A) The texans have probably been looking for an excuse to get rid of this guy anyway.
B) there's more to being an NFL player than just showing up for the game. They're "on the clock" more than just three hours a week.
Chuck --
Yes, clearly, playing pro sports is a JOB, that requires more hours on the clock -- at least during the season -- than us 9-5'ers. That said, it's not clear that missing the charter and flying commercial, in this one instance, actually caused him to miss a team activity. Did he miss the walk-through at the hotel? Did he miss player meetings?
And yes, I acknowledged that they were looking for a reason, and this provided it.
Travis, as a owner of an airlines, you have a Captain that has been late for his flights as Mallelt was late for his practices (which BTW was MANY times) and missed his flight with HIS team, would you want that Captain to flying for your airline?
As a union employee, regardless of the true motive for the release, it's all about what's in the contract. Let's see what the grievance shakes out.
If he was a good player that could help them get to the Super Bowl, he would not have been fired for missing a flight.