Ha Ha Clinton-Dix’s Laughable Character Traits on Full Display:

Players with a losing mentality find it easy to put the blame on others after seasons in which their team did not perform up to expectations. If you are looking for a prime example of the losing mentality that seeped into the locker room and onto the field, this season, for the Green Bay Packers, look no further then former pro bowl safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. During Tuesday’s exit interviews, Clinton-Dix left us all with some memorable closing remarks from his, and the teams disappointing 7-9 season.

Originally, for today’s article I wanted to do a more in-depth comparison of some of the leading internal and external general manager candidates and break down who would be, in the words of CEO Mark Murphy, “The best man for the position”, but I just could not let Ha Ha’s comments go. After trying to decompress after yet another wasted season, my Facebook and Twitter feeds were headlined by these, in my opinion, outrageous comments made by Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.

My Take on Ha Ha Clinton-Dix’s Exit Interview:

Now, before I go on my rant of biblical proportion against Clinton-Dix, I will say that I did agree with some of his points. I did agree with the point that he made about how the Packers need to have veteran depth on defense, and on both sides of the ball for that matter. He mentioned the need to have veteran players that can step in when starters are injured and can provide leadership, support, and guidance for rookies and younger players when they are forced into meaningful game action. No one in their right mind would make an argument to those sentiments. That is where Ha Ha should have dropped the mic and left the facility because those are about the only rational points that he made throughout his exit interview.

What incensed me about Clinton-Dix’s comments was when he started to talk about players not giving effort and about how the struggles of the defense had nothing to do with Dom Capers. Clinton-Dix addressed both the turmoil inside of the Packers locker room along with the constant in season speculation of which players and coaches would be allowed to stay or would be let go. He also addressed his perceived, changes in culture and attitude amongst players in the locker room and how he believes that it became a less than desirable locker room to be in throughout each of his four years in Green Bay.

The issue that I have regarding players with big mouths like Clinton-Dix, is that you can not trust them within the dynamics of an NFL locker room. There are certain issues within the locker room that you do not air to the press, it is an unwritten rule, plain and simple.

The second issue that I had with Clinton-Dix’s comments was the holier than thou tone in which he made them in. He clearly went out of his way to take shots at players that have been brought in over the past four years, who he believed, did not care about winning super bowls. He said, when questioning his teammate’s motives for coming to Green Bay, that:

“…you’ve got so many different individuals coming into the locker room that aren’t worth an (expletive), it’s kind of tough. Other guys have a different motivation when they come in here. Other guys want to get checks and just get out of here…Some guys are just content with where they’re at right now”. (-all quotes courtesy of Rob Demovsky ESPN)

My first thought was, is this guy, of all people, being serious right now?!?! (rant coming), (pause from reading and rant to yourself), (make sure to breathe)

Ok, Let me start with the first part of this quote, and let’s all be honest, we’re all thinking it, so I’ll just say it for every Packer fan out there. Ha Ha, you are the individual in the locker room that isn’t worth the smelly expletive word that you just mentioned. You are the guy that just wants to get his check and “just get out of here”. All season long you have given little to no effort and we have all watched you give up on tackles, miss assignments, and let receivers have a field day running past you, probably shouting “roll tide” as they passed you by.

Ha-Ha’s tirade against the organization did not end there, it continued when he talked about how the culture has changed since his rookie season in 2014, in what I think is a laughable line of comments coming from him of all people. (He has some nerve with this one, you’re going to have to take another deep breath) He says that:

“I’ve seen the locker room change from 2014 to now, where I had leaders to look up to, I had guys that I trusted and guys that trusted me; and when I messed up, they still had my back and didn’t point the finger.”

Oh, where, oh where do I start with this beaut?

Well, maybe it is time for Ha Ha to become the leader that guys like Kevin King and Josh Jones can look up to. Maybe it is time to become a guy that has his teammates “backs and doesn’t point the finger”. What a hypocrite you are Ha Ha, I think Packernation is running out of patience with you.

Maybe you should just quit throwing everyone under the preverbal bus and just stop and listen to your own advice. Become the teammate that you feel that this Green Bay Packer locker room is lacking right now and needs more of!!! I’m sure it would be really hard to build the championship caliber team that you had mentioned if there were more rats in the locker room like you, who want to squeal about the organization’s dirty laundry after a 7-9 season.

An Example of Leadership:

Morgan Burnett put it best when he said:

“I don’t want to question the bond…, I just feel like our bond was real tight in this locker room, and I really feel like the true character was revealed in people when you’re hit with an adverse situation. It’s all about how you respond, and I think the guys in this locker room responded really well”.

I want to highlight the part of Morgan’s comments where he talks about how true character is revealed in a player when he is “hit” with an adverse situation. Here, we have two players in the same locker room, on the same side of the ball, taking two totally different perspectives from what was, an obviously tumultuous season. We see the player who is a leader amongst his peers (Morgan Burnett), who had nothing but uplifting words for his teammates, and the player who is not a leader, (Ha Ha Clinton-Dix), who finds it easy to criticize his teammates and his organization during one of its lowest points in recent memory.

Final Thought:

Maybe it is just time to cut ties with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and find players who are of a higher character and are higher impact individuals, who will have a more positive effect on the chemistry of this team.

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David Michalski is a recent college graduate from Princeton New Jersey who has been a life long Green Bay Packers fan. Like the great Vince Lombardi, he values God, family, and the Green Bay Packers in that order. You can follow him on twitter at @kilbas27dave

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