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I was somewhat there on Sunday (at the picnic - maybe not at the exact place the incident occurred) and I want to shed a little perspective on this.
First of all, it is rather unlikely this could have happened during the main autograph signing that happened immediately after practice. The reason is because the athletes are not allowed to leave the field. They all have to sign autographs until the horn sounds.
This signing-dupe most likely happened during the Picnic part of the day.
I even recall "Coltson" walking out and it being extremely odd. It was extremely odd because this was WAY AFTER practice and after the players had eaten during the roped-in signing part of the practice.
What was odd? Every single other player who came out for autographs at this time was wearing relaxing or street clothes. Nobody else was wearing a helmet at this time including Snead or Kelemete who both wear their helmet during the normal post-practice autograph sessions.
Most players dont even wear their jersey numbers during this session. I had to point out to one lady who Kennan Lewis was when he was standing right next to her.
Still I missed the obvious "red flags" as well, but they were there.
One other thing to understand is that some of the autograph fans are down right rude. One such example that was starting to bother me was one lady standing next to me. She started insulting Drew Brees because he wouldnt sign some jersey she claimed she had for her relative serving over seas. "Do It for the troops! You have no respect for the troops!" she exclaimed from across the cement patio as if Drew had any idea what she was talking about.
Other autograph hounds (a small but easily observable percentage) would even be snobby to players they did not know intimating they were only interested in the big name players.
I was not surprised when I overheard one of the players say to his teammate, "I aint signing ******" And yet the overheard comment miffed the person next to me.
This part is my opinion feel free to see things your own way.
I see that Coleman made a mistake in judgement, but I definitely get where he was coming from.
I also understand how the guy who got his jersey signed might be bent, and yet I also definitely see the humor in it.
First of all, it is rather unlikely this could have happened during the main autograph signing that happened immediately after practice. The reason is because the athletes are not allowed to leave the field. They all have to sign autographs until the horn sounds.
This signing-dupe most likely happened during the Picnic part of the day.
I even recall "Coltson" walking out and it being extremely odd. It was extremely odd because this was WAY AFTER practice and after the players had eaten during the roped-in signing part of the practice.
What was odd? Every single other player who came out for autographs at this time was wearing relaxing or street clothes. Nobody else was wearing a helmet at this time including Snead or Kelemete who both wear their helmet during the normal post-practice autograph sessions.
Most players dont even wear their jersey numbers during this session. I had to point out to one lady who Kennan Lewis was when he was standing right next to her.
Still I missed the obvious "red flags" as well, but they were there.
One other thing to understand is that some of the autograph fans are down right rude. One such example that was starting to bother me was one lady standing next to me. She started insulting Drew Brees because he wouldnt sign some jersey she claimed she had for her relative serving over seas. "Do It for the troops! You have no respect for the troops!" she exclaimed from across the cement patio as if Drew had any idea what she was talking about.
Other autograph hounds (a small but easily observable percentage) would even be snobby to players they did not know intimating they were only interested in the big name players.
I was not surprised when I overheard one of the players say to his teammate, "I aint signing ******" And yet the overheard comment miffed the person next to me.
This part is my opinion feel free to see things your own way.
I see that Coleman made a mistake in judgement, but I definitely get where he was coming from.
I also understand how the guy who got his jersey signed might be bent, and yet I also definitely see the humor in it.
