There's dumb, there's real dumb, and there's LaVar Arrington

A long, long time ago, my daddy told me to avoid anything having to do with Penn State because he'd never met anyone from there that was worth a shiznit. Ok, he didn't say "shiznit," but you get the idea.

This may be an overstatement, but former Nittany Lion and Washington Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington is doing one hell of a job of making my dad look like a genius.

For those of you who don't know, Arrington was the second overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft. He was supposedly a freak of nature, a player who could dominate like Lawrence Taylor did. In fact, he wore the number 56 for that very purpose.

With the exception of ending Troy Aikman's career with a concussion-causing hit to the head, Arrington didn't do a whole lot in the NFL of notice. He did make three pro bowls and a hell of a lot of money, but he also earned a reputation for being a freelancer (not doing what the defense scheme called for) and being either too lazy or stupid to know exactly what defense the Redskins were running, anyway (to say nothing of what OFFENSE the opponent was running from week to week).

When the great Coach Joe Gibbs returned to the NFL in 2004, he brought defensive coordinator Gregg Williams with him. Both men agreed that Arrington was overpaid, lazy and had no interest in learning the team's new scheme. On all counts, they were right -- he whined to the point that he lost his job for most of the 2005 season, when the Redskins made the playoffs.

Two years, two releases and a motorcycle accident later, Arrington was out of football. But, two years further down the road, the all-intelligent Arrington thinks he is in a position to piss on one of the best coaches in NFL history.

"I called Joe Gibbs a coward for leaving," Arrington said in a story in the Washington Times this past weekend. "You came in, you made some money for your NASCAR team. No one else is going to say that. I'm sure more people thought I was a [jerk] for saying that. Joe wouldn't call me because he knows. There are a lot of people who know the truth about what went down with me and the Redskins."

(Background: Joe Gibbs retired after this past season, four years and two playoff appearances into his second stint as head coach. He retired as the oldest coach in the league and a diabetic with a seriously ill grandson. He also retired after guiding the Redskins to a 5-0 record down the stretch and a playoff berth after his best defensive player, Sean Taylor, was murdered and starting quarterback Jason Campbell was lost for the year.)

Well, LaVar, you got one thing right: you are a jerk. You're also a first-class moron. I'm not a real big NASCAR guy, but I do know enough to know that Joe Gibbs racing is in perfectly good financial shape and, if I'm correct, won two Winston/Nextel/Spint/Whateverthehellitis Cup titles while Coach Joe was resurrecting the Redskins. You know, the Washington Redskins--the team that sucked while you were there, LaVar, but suddenly became respectable again after Coach Joe arrived and stopped holding your hand?

Anyway, time moves on. Arrington is now a TV commentator, doing the Redskins postgame show on Comcast Sports Net in D.C., and a businessman (he just opened or is opening a new restaurant in the Washington area). Well all know that rule number one for a broadcaster is "Know thine audience" and rule number one for a businessman is "Know thy customer." It appears Arrington isn't real good at either of these ventures, because he just pissed off both.

There is one person that is universally revered by everyone in the Washington area, black or white, and it ain't Barack Obama. It's Coach Joe. Even though Coach Joe is a Southern Baptist, I'm quite sure some Catholic 'Skins fans have checked into the requirements for sainthood for him. By taking shots at Joe Gibbs, Arrington probably just ensured that his TV career will be short and his restaurant won't be around too long.

I'm not saying that such a stupid move was a result of Penn State "education," but someone sure fed LaVar Arrington a serious case of the stupids.