PHILADELPHIA — Yes, I called Jalen Hurts insecure. Yes, it was precisely the word I wanted to use. But I meant it in the best possible way.
Last week, on the Birds 365 podcast, I was asked if workaholic overachiever Jalen Hurts would get a “big head” after signing a $255 million contract extension in April.
My reply:
“No. He’s probably the most insecure athlete in Philadelphia who uses the insecurity to his advantage. I think he knows what his physical limitations are and always has been, and that’s one reason he works so hard to optimize every bit of ability he has.”
The social media arm of JAKIB Sports trimmed the quote and altered the context in which it was given, which created a firestorm of sorts.
No complaint here: Social media teams are hired to create as much buzz as possible, including ours at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Also, I said what I said, and I meant it. I understand that some might have heard the word insecure and ignored the context. Them’s the breaks. If sports columnists were to answer every question concerned about how it might be used out of context, then we would be toothless.
Whenever you say anything tangentially critical about a star athlete these days, self-appointed defenders of his or her character and virtue rise up, enraged, and proceed to launch a counteroffensive, often ignorant of the root of their anger.
At any rate, I’m not here to amplify my statements, walk them back, or clarify them. I will, however, provide better context. I also think it’s a topic of conversation that merits discussion.
The most insecure athletes I’ve been around, who used those insecurities to push them to higher levels of performance, are Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Brian Dawkins. In fact, I compared Hurts’ work ethic to that of Jordan, Bryant and Dawkins on the podcast. Not bad comps.
And yes, all three were insecure. Each in his own way, to his own degree, but each of them was driven by something more than the simple pursuit of excellence.
They were the best at their business but never thought they were good enough. They obsessed over proving their critics wrong, even when the criticisms were mild; and by obsessed, I mean they got angry, and vengeful, and they were maybe a little bit scared. Their single-minded, furious focus on perfecting their techniques, preparing their bodies, and understanding their craft and its strategies while still adding skills to the repertoires made them … different.
Think about it.
You’re not on a VersaClimber at midnight watching tape in the offseason, like Jalen Hurts is, unless your passion has morphed into something overwhelming.
This is a good thing.
Hurts does not have a powerful arm. He’s not tall. He was a superstar in college, but from Andre Ware to Tim Tebow, history shows us that college success doesn’t always translate to the NFL.
This is what makes Hurts more valuable, at this moment, than Josh Allen or Joe Burrow.
It’s what makes him a better long-term bet than Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, or Randall Cunningham were. He’s nowhere near as talented as any of his dual-threat forebears, but none of them holds a candle to his commitment to prepare and improve.
So back to the original question: “Do I think Jalen Hurts will justify his new contract?”
Again, and simply: The contract is coincidental. Unlike most professional athletes — emphasis on professional — Hurts is driven by something much more powerful than greed. Part of the drive is rooted in his belief that, to make it in the NFL, the rent is due every day, and you always leave cash on the table, even when the rent is no longer due and you’ve taken everybody’s money.
Those are his mottoes. They are not everyone’s mottoes.
Acknowledging or recognizing insecurity should not be considered an insult. We’re all insecure about something, and a lot of us are insecure about a lot of things. There’s no shame in displaying insecurities; the shame is faking real security. Looking at you here, Carson and Ben.
I find it unsavory, not to mention lazy and unethical, when reporters address news about themselves: create controversy, report on that controversy, rinse, repeat. So I don’t love doing it at all, particularly when lots of actual stuff is happening, from the NFL gambling scandals to the Phillies’ run to the Flyers’ rebuild to James Harden’s holding the Sixers hostage.
I’ve done this for the first time in my 33 years as a journalist for a couple of reasons. One, my statements were presented out of context on many platforms. Two, my statements — made during an uncompensated appearance on a for-profit outlet — were picked up and monetized by several other outlets, including si.com, WIP-FM, and WPHL 17.
I figured my actual employer might as well monetize them, too.
