Bernard Pollard Accuses Chiefs of Trying To Have Him Blackballed

Bernard Pollard led the Kansas City Chiefs with 98 tackles in 2008, 13 more than his nearest competition. He also had the dubious distinction of being the player that ended Tom Brady's season before it really got started. But the defensive MVP of the Chiefs was a roster casualty in early September as Kansas City trimmed down to meet the 53-man requirement. Now Pollard is claiming that the Chiefs tried to blackball him from signing with any other NFL team.

"I'm not going to sit here and lie to you," he said, "I don't know why I was cut. I can't do anything but assume. I know what was said about me. The things they said about me weren't right and they know they weren't right."

Pollard went into more detail on the things he claims someone from the Chiefs said about him after he was released.

"I don't know who said them. The one thing that disappointed me - I'm not going to go into everything that was said because there were a lot of things that were said but it hurt me - it said I was argumentative and disrespectful to my teammates."

Pollard refutes the claims that he was bad to have in the locker room and goes on to say that had Herm Edwards not called around the league on his behalf, Pollard might not be playing right now.

He says he was unaware of any personality conflict between him and the new front office staff of the Chiefs. Pollard was also unable to pinpoint how he seemed to alienate the coaching staff, especially Todd Haley who Pollard accused of excessive cursing and showing signs of disrespect during practices.

Wildly spoken about was Pollard's deficiency with missing tackles while trying to go for the big play. Fans erroneously blamed him for missing more tackles then he made and trying, too hard, to live up to his nickname of "Bone-crusher".

But it made no sense for a young safety with as much talent and upside as Pollard has, to be cut -- even with the depth the Chiefs had at safety. And there's definitely a problem if the Chiefs did somehow try to keep Pollard from being able to hook up with another team somewhere down the line.

It's too early to tell if the 24-year-old Pollard will live up to his second-round draft status. But he's sure found new life in Houston. His 42 tackles is already good for third place on the Texans, even after missing the first three games of the season. He also picked off Peyton Manning twice last Sunday and had a season-high 12 tackles.

On Sunday, Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star published a statement on Twitter confirming that Pollard was a "bad, bad influence" in the locker room. But he also said he was a much better player than current Chiefs safety Mike Brown.

Name calling and finger-pointing aside, it looks as if the Chiefs loss of Pollard is Houston's gain. And the Kansas City secondary is truly the group that suffers the most from this debacle -- unless you consider their fans.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-11-2009 @ 7:01AM

woody said...

WHEN'S THE LAST TIME K.C. MADE ANY GREAT DECISIONS? THEY SHOULD LET THE CHIEFS & THE LIONS PLAY IN THE "BLUNDER BOWL!"

11-11-2009 @ 7:43AM

mattmanec said...

Too much cursing??? Better send him to the lingerie league

11-11-2009 @ 7:56AM

Andie Wuvs Me :) said...

Where there is SMOKE Oh Whiner Pollard, there is FIRE! Many of these overpaid ChilDren in the National Felons League are of the opinion that because they are strong and big that this equates to the same thing in the BRAIN department, it does NOT! So, Mista' Pole-Head, SHUT UP! $$$$ AJM33771 says; Ricky & Lucy quick get the limo here before Pole-Head catches me LOL

11-11-2009 @ 8:24AM

Linda said...

Cursing in public used to be unacceptable. In Oklahoma it is still illegal to curse in the presence of women and children. I understand cursing can happen, but have we lost respect for ourselves? If I allowed cursing in my home the words that came out of my girls mouths would make a sailor blush. In a job situation where a woman was listening to the cursing it could be constued as sexual harassment, a player whose beliefs do not include cursing should not be subjected to inordinate amounts of foul language. It has to do with respecting a fellow human.

11-12-2009 @ 2:53PM

Catmoves said...

Linda "If I allowed cursing in my home the words that came out of my girls mouths would make a sailor blush."
What kind of children do you have?

11-11-2009 @ 9:23AM

anothrimage said...

LOL, too much cursing, 1 player shoots his girlfriend in the gut cause she's pregnant, another player shoots himself in the leg in a bar, another player kills a motorist in a hit and run dui and on and on, and they raised hell about an individual as part of group that wants to buy a team because of his views? ....:::shaking head::::

11-11-2009 @ 10:42AM

Jack said...

Bernard Pollard has every right to expect his coach will respect him and his wish to not have profanity used around him especially considering he was such a productive member of a very poor team in the midst of major reorganization. It is no more than any of us would expect from our employer or direct supervisor. Since he is not responsible in any way for the actions of any present or former NFL players you can’t act as if his reaction to how he is spoken to and treated is ridiculous.

They "raised hell about an individual as part of group that wants to buy a team because of his views" because he has negative views on FOOTBALL and FOOTBALL PLAYERS! That's like saying you can't understand why they won't hire Sarah Palin to run an abortion clinic or let a pedophile run a daycare center. Get a clue. The players that commit crimes are subject to the legal system and in many cases aren't allowed back into the NFL. Stop being such a cry baby because a blatant racist isn't allowed to own a team where the majority of its players are minorities. Let Limbaugh call the NHL. I’m sure they’ll welcome him with open arms.

11-11-2009 @ 10:23AM

Angela said...

The new front office staff of the Chiefs. Todd Haley and the entire coaching staff. His fellow Chiefs. The Chiefs' fans. NEWSPAPER reports of his attitude and negative influence in the locker room. Damn. Either it was everyone else, or it was Bernard Pollard. Argumentative and disrespectful are traits of a prideful, selfish person, not a gracious person and team player. Too bad Pollard wasn't man enough to say to himself, look, is there any truth in the fodder? I need to separate the wheat from the chaff and weigh out in good measure what hurts to hear. How can I use it to make myself a better person, create a more cohesive football team, and continue to soar as a professional athlete regardless of which team I belong to? I'm sorry to see professional football lowered to the standard of valuing one player over the whole team and rewarding people who poison the arena of professional sports across the board.

11-11-2009 @ 10:37AM

English said...

Funny the Chiefs just released Larry Johnson because he called the Coach Haley out. The Chiefs, once a great team have become a joke led by a Head Coach who is in fact a joke, and a new GM who has yet to prove he can make reasonable decision and stand up and say anything to the fans. He stays hidden in his office. The Chiefs are looking for players who will not question any coach, and just do what they are told with out thinking. When the team continues to lose Haley continues to say "we just need to get better". Now that shows some real indepth knowledge. When you have won one game, including the preseason, how can the locker room be upset by one player.

11-11-2009 @ 11:18AM

To The New Jeff said...

What did he expect? Working for a sport that is run like a communist state, you know the rulers are going to behave poorly.

11-11-2009 @ 11:52AM

Steve said...

Geez...I guess you can't say $hit in KC....

J.F. CONSULTANTS said...

As the ole saying goes, can we all just get along? My jaw fell to the floor when I heard the news of Pollard being released. Why would any NFL team release an MVP-caliber player unless there are some highly publicized salary cap, contract or performance issues? I don't see where that case has been distinctly made here, so I am inclined to believe there is more than an ounce of truth to what Pollard is claiming. It sort of makes you wonder if KC has gone out of their way and the message being sent is "we don't want you to embarrass us and make us look bad if you continue to play as an MVP for another team?" Bad blood is what it is, but Pollard should have been very quickly picked up before the ink dried on the waiver wire, unless there was something else going on behind the scene to prevent that from happening. This is overall just a bit too mysterious and I think Bone-crusher has a valid point here.

11-11-2009 @ 12:04PM

db1219 said...

Pollard, you are an adult man, not a child. In the locker room, on the sidelines and on the field, you should expect to hear some cursing----from everybody. As for Kansas City cutting you, let's look at the decisions the Chiefs have made over the past decade. Picking you in the draft was the only good decision that they made. KC sucks as a team, and the front office obviously doesn't know talent when they see it. Be happy that you're still playing, that you injured Brady (I was VERY pleased with that one), and keep hitting hard.

11-11-2009 @ 12:07PM

Master Who said...

Pretty much sounds as if Pollard was bringing some class to the team and the coach is not mature enough to except the fact that it maybe the coach's mindset that sabotages the moral of the team and consequently the gameplay.
Although brutish in appearance the game is still strategical, ultimately requiring sound and logical reasoning for proper execution of all plays.
The coach's job, is to impart his general strategical mindset onto his players.
Had all teams been equal the competitions would invariably become a coach versus coach scenario and the coach that draws the most honor and respect from his team and imparts the greatest mindset of field generalship onto his players invariably achieves victory, but this is purely academic...the same can be said for parenting ;7)
William Henry Ortiz
God Bless

11-11-2009 @ 1:01PM

vls60 said...

Mattmanec: If you listen closely to the LFL games, you will note that these ladies can put to shame many men when it comes to salty language.

11-11-2009 @ 1:05PM

I've got a better idea, jack. Destroying the nfl as you know it,if they force nationalized health care on us hmm, we start at the high school level, no more contact sports to lower health care cost because of injuries, oh yeah, caps on ceo's of companies? weeeell, how about a 90% tax on player salaries and bonuses to help pay for it? lesse a player gets 20 million just for signing? at a tax rate of 90% I'm sure that player won't mind just seeing 2 million, after all it's good for the country right? Be careful what you wish for, poser.

11-11-2009 @ 2:07PM

We know Haley! said...

Yes, Haley does curse too much! It's ridiculous! If he could coach like he cusses then things would be much better. These are grown men and he speaks to them as if they're scum. He is very disrespectful! He won't be in KC long!

11-11-2009 @ 3:41PM

Oldtimer said...

I was one of the many fans who thought that, according to the national and local media, the Chiefs had pulled off a really good hire when they picked up Scott Pioli. His hiring of Todd Haley was a "we guess he must know what he is doing, so we will give Haley a chance" moment. Here it is nearly a year later and I, for one, can say that neither one of these guys has a clue what they are doing. Cutting Pollard was just one of the most visible of their screw-ups. Kansas City, I hope I am wrong, but you are in for a long and miserable time until Clark Hunt decides that he wants his team to win, instead of just make money. My advice is, fire them both and try to talk ex-Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher into building a winner here. Otherwise, let's take up astronomy or knitting.

11-12-2009 @ 5:24PM

wigglepuppy33 said...

To the Author: Bernard Pollard had two INT's in the Indy game, but they were not both off of Peyton Manning. One was thrown by Reggie Wayne on a gadget play.