After spending four days with his hospitalized father in Tennessee, Chad Pennington returned yesterday to the Jets and practiced as the No. 1 quarterback. Pennington didn't confirm or deny reports that his father, Elwood, had had a heart attack, but he did say his father, still in the hospital, is improving. "It puts everything in perspective," said Pennington, who was excused from Saturday night's game in Washington. "Football doesn't matter when something tragic happens or an illness happens." Pennington acknowledged that he was "pretty stressed out" last week, but that he's glad to be back on the field. He likely will start Friday night against the Giants. BLOCK PARTY: The Jets, looking for a blocking tight end, signed 11-year veteran Walter Rasby, who was cut last week by the Patriots. Rasby, 33, who has played for five teams, has 64 career receptions for 584 yards and five touchdowns. RUSH HOUR: Held up by a five-hour physical, newly acquired RB Kevan Barlow was late for practice, but he was in uniform and participated in a few drills. Coach Eric Mangini didn't say whether Barlow would play this week, but he's likely to get some time. Mangini said of Barlow, "He's a bigger back, he catches the ball well out of the backfield and he's got the ability to make people miss. All those things, I thought, were positives." Barlow probably will ascend to the starting job, but he hasn't been an effective workhorse back. His career numbers for all his carries after the first 20 in a game are bleak: 28 rushes for 73 yards, a 2.6 average, according to Stats, LLC. Asked about his subpar seasons in 2004 and 2005, Barlow, who rushed for 1,024 yards in 2003, smiled and said, "You had to bring that up." He believes he was victimized by the 49ers' rebuilding process. BACKUP PLAN: Rookie QB Kellen Clemens, making a bid for the No. 2 job, practiced with the second team, a slight change in Mangini's four-man rotation. Patrick Ramsey and Brooks Bollinger had very few reps, but they got most of the playing time against the Redskins. ... WR Jerricho Cotchery and RT Anthony Clement continued with the first team, meaning Justin McCareins and Adrian Jones, respectively, could be out of starting jobs. The Falcons may have an interest in McCareins, who could be traded. ... As expected, CB David Barrett got most of the first-team reps, replacing Justin Miller, who had a poor game Saturday.
"It puts everything in perspective," said Pennington, who was excused from Saturday night's game in Washington. "Football doesn't matter when something tragic happens or an illness happens." OK, this bothers me tremendously. I'm no cold hearted, but I wouldn't be allowed to suddenly leave my job for almost a week if my dad had a heart attack, and I'm not paid millions of dollars a year. If I did, I would be fired. Death is another thing, but sick doesn't cut it. Sorry Chad, but football DOES matter for you, always, because it's your job.
You must not have a very good job. I know if my dad had a heart attack and lived across the country, I'd be allowed to go take care of family. There is a huge difference between SICK and Heart Attack.
Im sorry that bothers you but seriously, where is your heart?...if my father were to have a heart attack i would have no problem taking off work for a week...you dont like the way Chad handled this...too bad...if your upset that he took more time off then you could at work...the best I can tell you is to get a new job b/c it seems like they have you on a short lease.. Mangini let Penny go b/c he knows how much it means to lose a father to a heart attack...in case you didnt know...Manginis fatehr died of a heart attack at 16...again im sorry but thats very sad...the value of life heavily outweighs the value of a job... and penny's job is still secure...i heard it from ESPNews via the mouth of Mangini himself...nothing lost with the jets and the CS...can you really blame them for letting him go
The problem is, it's not like Chad needed to "take care of his family". He left to spend a few days with his Dad, not to take care of business. You make it sound like the rest of his immediate family are total idiots. Why does Chad need to take care of everything? For most of us in the real world, this would be considered job abandonment. Sad reality, but true nontheless.
My heart is firmly in my chest, and I'd want nothing more than to be with my family if a member had a heart attack. What I'm saying is, for most of us, we would not have the option of dropping everything to leave our jobs for a week. We wouldn't have the option of saying our job "doesn't matter". That's the only part of Chad's statement that really bothered me. Death is a different story, as just about every company on the planet has berievement clauses in the employees contract.
If my dad had a heart attack, I'd leave work for a week. My daughter had a HEART CONDITION when she was born in late 2003, and unfortunately did not live past 6 months. Do you know how much time I put into work for those 6 months? Maybe 4 weeks worth. I worked when I can. The rest of the time was spent with my daughter. From November 5th (her birth date) until January 5th, I did not even SIT in front my my computer to work once. When an immediate family member is in serious trouble, you go take care of them. How would you like it if that member passed away, and you didn't go because "I had to stay and work" so you did not get to see them one last time? No boss with a good sense of his employees would do that, as the employee would not be as effective for the rest of their time at the company (they'd be bitter).
so your saying it doesnt matter how sick they are...until they die then they shouldnt be able to take time off to be with their family??? So basically wait until its too late...sounds like a great plan!
Yeah - you may want to reconsider where you work. The attitude you have reminds me of that old 80's movie with Michael Keaton - Gung Ho! When you are old and gray and on your own death bed - it will all become clear. While your current job may seem like everything as it puts food on the table, it's really quite small in the grand scheme of things. As humans we are resilient enough to bounce back. If you lose your job to tend to your family - you just get another one. If your new job doesn't understand why you left your old job - that is not the place that you want to work!
Exactly. I'm sure we have that too, but I didn't even have to do that. I just called my boss, told him the situation, and he said, "Keep me updated, and when you have time, we'll talk about work..." We didn't even discuss work for 2 months. The paychecks kept coming too, but I work for a very very good, wellknown organization.
Your boss must be a real **** if he/she wouldn't let you leave to be with a family member who just had a heart attack. Family comes first...no matter what.
Fen, my man, I'd consider looking for a new place of employment if you aren't "allowed" to leave for a family emergency. It wouldn't even be a question of being allowed... I would leave, and come back when I could, regardless of what my job thought. I've never had a job tell me I couldn't leave for a family emergency. God forbid your dad has a heart attack, and is in the hospital, starts to get better and then suddnely passes. How are you going ot feel if you didn't go because your job said you couldn't, and you missed the only opportunity you had to see him. IU know I wouldn't be able to let something like that go... it would haunt me, and I'd quit my job and never return to it... not allowed... your a grown man, and your job should not come before the health of any family member. Family is more important than any job Fen... Trust me Ellis
I think what Chad meant was that at the point that heard about his dad that his job didn't matter, at that point in time. I agree with Chad and I wouldn't expect him to do anything else but to go and be by his dad. I know if it were my dad I would leave instantly. What if he hadn't gone and seen his father and then his dad passed away and he didn't get to see him one last time, becasue he was to busy playing a simple little game! Family comes before everything including football.
People deal with family and tragedy differently. Some athletes would want to be with the team and do their job, others might not be able to focus and in a sport like football that can be dangerous for you and your team mates. The reality is most high profile athletes can afford to do what ever it is they want to do because they earned the right to by their value. It may not be right it may not be fair but everyone regardless of what they earn or who their boss has to live with their own choices. Chad made a decission and the team supported it, what's the problem?
No... How hard is to see the point I'm trying to make. I would go! My point is I wouldn't have a job waiting for me when I get back. Neither would most people.
The last sentence is what most disagree with here. Taking away the fact that you could probably sue for your job back, no boss in their right mind would fire you if it was legit. You also keep saying 1 week, when in reality you missed Wednesday, Thursday, no practice friday, Saturday, no practice Sunday, and Monday... so he missed 4 days... not a week which is a little different. If a boss ever fired you for that, he'd have a hard time keeping employees.
