And that’s a firm no, not to
be swayed to the contrary by anything in any way, shape or form.

No means no.

N-O, NO!

It comes from the simple, clear wisdom of former Browns head coach Chris Palmer.

Yes, certainly, things did not work out well for Palmer during his brief stint for the first two years of the expansion era in 1999 and 2000. But that doesn’t take away from his straight thinking — and common sense. I loved hearing him talk about football — and anything else that came up — because I knew I would be smarter afterward.

I once asked Palmer how much character mattered when evaluating a player.

“It means everything,” he said without hesitation.

“Look, it’s hard enough for a college player to make it in the NFL, no matter how good he may seem
to be. No player is a sure thing. A lot of things can go wrong and his skill set just doesn’t fit the NFL.

“So, even in a perfect world with no character issues, there’s only a razor-thin chance for a lot of these guys to make it in the pros. Understanding that, then, I can’t take that tiny chance and reduce it even more by drafting a player who I know has a problem with his character, his behavior.

“If we’re in Pittsburgh trying to win a game and we’ve got a small lead with just a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, I have to make sure that every player I have out there was studying his playbook and getting his rest all week so he’ll be ready to make a play that will win us the game.”

Gambling, like that which Sorsby has done a whole lot, to historic proportions, is not a character issue, or a problem or a flaw. It is instead a four-alarm fire raging out of control. It is a character disaster on steroids. Getting involved with him is not a consideration by the team
or even the league — ever.

A word to the wise of the current Browns is sufficient.

Steve King