Clinton Portis Discusses The Death Of Chris Henry
Posted by Matt Terl on December 18, 2009 – 12:21 pm%Video-930%
Clinton Portis gets described in a lot of ways: outlandish, irreverant, outspoken, controversial — all the things that make his radio appearances must-listen (and, often, must-transcribe) things. But there’s an introspective side to Portis that’s often overlooked. Redskins Nation saw it after the death of Portis’ teammate and friend Sean Taylor two years ago, but it’s not something that surfaces much in the regular flow of an NFL season.
The death of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry yesterday unavoidably brought back memories of Taylor’s death — a talented young player just coming out of a sometimes-troubled period of his life, not playing for his team due to injury, dying senselessly far too young and during the football season.
Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder even opened yesterday’s otherwise celebratory press conference with thoughts of Henry and the Bengals organization. “I’d like to,” he said, “on behalf of the Redskins organization, send our heartfelt condolences to the Cincinnati Bengals, to Chris Henry’s family, and to my dear friend Marvin Lewis. As an organization that went through a tragedy two years ago, our hearts and our prayers and our wishes go to them. We understand. And our prayers go out to the organization.”
The eerie, unfortunate similarity also occurred to someone at ESPN, so they arranged a phone interview with Portis to discuss that grim November of 2007 and what it would be like for the Bengals to take the field after this kind of event. (You can watch the video above.)
But Portis started by talking about Henry as a person, not about the team’s reaction to his loss.
“You think of how Chris was portrayed,” he said, “and then all of a sudden, after hearing [teammate Chad Johnson] talk, you think of the real Chris Henry. You know, what type of guy he was and how he’s gonna be missed. So being in that situation, you know, I think Chris was a great guy on and off the field.
“You run into situations that you can’t control and you learn from ‘em, and I think Chad was saying that he learned. He was trying to do everything right and bettering himself, and the Bengals gave him another opportunity, and now he’s gone.”
Then Portis was asked directly about the similarity to the Sean Taylor situation.
“I think the hardest part about it is, you think of guys — you think of Sean Taylor, you think of Chris Henry — and you think of the situations that they were in. You know, when the outside world really didn’t have the appreciation that a teammate would have for those guys. You never really see ‘em on TV.
“I think in Sean’s case, Sean had some negative publicity, and everybody portrayed Sean as the guy who just didn’t care. Leavin’ the symposium, havin’ the DUI run-in … you look at Chris and it’s the same background.
“And now that Chris is gone, you look and see all of a sudden all the appreciation for Chris’ work — the people in the locker room that really knew Chris, that really appreciated Chris, that’s gonna miss Chris coming in and stirrin’ things up and having him around. All of a sudden, the appreciation that they have is greater. I think the fans’ appreciation is greater. Only thing about it is, he don’t have another opportunity. He gone. It’s always gonna be memories and, Oh, we wish, we wish we had Chris. But when you had Chris you really didn’t appreciate the moment and the opportunity. And I think it’s something you’re gonna think about all the time.”
Finally, he actually discussed what the Bengals would be going through as they attempt to face the San Diego Chargers this Sunday.
“I think takin’ the field, man, you know … we lost Sean, and I think just takin’ the field, it seemed like football wasn’t … you know, everybody makes it like football, football’s gonna cure it. I don’t think football was that important. You know, you sit, and you’re like man, I lost a teammate. I lost a friend. This guy’s gone. And I think when the realization comes that he’s not — when their receiving corps takes the field, or their offense takes the field — and not having Chris to throw to, not having that safety blanket … I think you always knew no matter what happened, Sean Taylor was a safety blanket.
“And I think if you look at Chris Henry, he was that same safety blanket. You look at his numbers over the years, it was always he’s gonna be there. And now he’s not. And I think that’s gonna be the hardest part, just knowing. It ain’t no IR, it’s not tomorrow. He ain’t coming back. You ain’t gonna have this opportunity to see him again, so now it’s just memories.”
Tags: chris henry, ChrisHenry, Clinton Portis, ClintonPortis, Sean Taylor, SeanTaylor
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