You mean Mike Nolan isn't really Hitler?

[Randall]

Barlow-what a guy.

 

"HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Jets running back Kevan Barlow apologized Wednesday to 49ers coach Mike Nolan for comparing him to Adolf Hitler in a newspaper interview.

 

Barlow, who was traded from San Francisco to New York on Sunday for a fourth-round pick, made his inflammatory comments to the Contra Costa Times. The often outspoken Barlow said after practice Wednesday he left a detailed message for Nolan.

 

"If I could take it back, I would," Barlow said. "I was very emotional. All I knew at the time was San Francisco, that was where I started my career, that's where my house was. It was a shock to me.

 

"I'm a passionate player, I'm an emotional guy when it comes to on the field and off the field. Sometimes it gets the best of us. I put it behind me, and I'm glad to be a Jet."

 

Barlow was upset with the trade because Nolan assured him earlier in the week he wouldn't be dealt. He told the newspaper Nolan was a "first-time head coach with too much power."

 

"He walks around with a chip on his shoulder, like he's a dictator, like he's Hitler," Barlow told the paper. "People are scared of him. If it ain't Nolan's way, it's the highway."

 

After making the comments, Barlow called back to say he didn't mean to make the comparison, blaming his outburst on his emotions.

 

"I was kind of harsh on him, saying he's a dictator. That's bad. Saddam Hussein is a dictator," Barlow told the paper. "I was speaking on emotion."

 

On Wednesday, Barlow said, "I tried to go back and take some things back from the reporter, but obviously he wanted to write a story. It was too late by then."

 

Barlow was never one to hold his tongue during his time in San Francisco. He had some spats with teammates and coaches, including a long-running feud with fullback Fred Beasley. The players quashed their fight last season.

 

When told of Barlow's latest comments, Nolan told the newspaper, "It's unfortunate he feels that way."

 

"Personally, I feel Kevan is a good kid," Nolan said. "When I came here I heard negative things about him and trouble in the locker room. When I was here, I thought he did the right things, like calling me if he was late or calling if he said the wrong thing to the media. As long as he was here, he was a model citizen."

 

The Jets acquired Barlow to bolster their depth, with Curtis Martin on the physically-unable-to-perform list because of a knee injury. Barlow was told about the trade just before the 49ers left for their game against Oakland on Sunday.

 

He took a red-eye flight to New York and arrived Monday morning, passed his physical and practiced briefly. He was excused from practice Tuesday so he could catch up on sleep. But that didn't stop him from criticizing Nolan to the newspaper.

 

When Jets coach Eric Mangini found out about what Barlow said, he had a long talk with his new player.

 

"I thought his comments were inappropriate," Mangini said. "After he said it, he wished he could have those words back. But he can't. Kevan has already called coach Nolan to talk to him about that, which I think is important."

 

Because of character questions, many wondered why the Jets made the move earlier in the week. Barlow insisted Wednesday he is a "good character guy." Now he wants to put his days in San Francisco behind and focus on New York.

 

"I bleed green and white now," he said. "And I'm happy to be a Jet."

[Vet]

"I bleed green and white now," he said. "And I'm happy to be a Jet."

 

 

 

He'll rue the day he uttered those words.

[killer angels]

You have to wonder if Kevan Barlow has any brain at all. What a way to come to a team. It will be a long time before he lives that down.

[mitpdub]

Barlow is going to bury himself with the newyork media. His agent needs to put a muzzle on him. I'm sure we remmember how well Barlow became a team player 2 years ago when the media asked him what the niners need for the 05 draft, and he said "an entire offensive line".

While it was probably a near true statement, I'm sure those guys tried extra hard to open holes for him.

[Red Barons]

To me its a non-story. Barlow was comparing Nolan's demeanor to one of a dictator and he could have said Stalin, Mussolini, Castro etc., but God forbid he said the name Hitler. My guess,a Jewish writer/reporter jumped all over it and made it a national headline.

[CowboysDiehard]

Kinda late to this thread, but to be honest, is there anyone left in this country that hasn't been called 'Hitler'? You can't turn on the TV anymore without someone playing either the Hitler or Race card. Both lost their rhetoric impact long ago. :

[Pope Flick]

It was a dumb thing to say but in the end much ado about nothing. This isn't a case of him saying it, and then apologizing after it's printed and causes an uproar. No, he said it then apparently called back a short time later to offer what sounds like a genuine apology.

 

Now, I don't know if his agent was on the other end of the phone with him and told him to make that call back, but the long and short of it is, he made a mistake and offered an apology before it took on a life of its own, which certainly counts for something in today's world where self-responsibility is lacking in many pro atheletes and many people in general. He owned his words too bad more people won't.