Can Spin Be Silent?

The Bears fan in me was really happy to hear that Lance Briggs is out there sweating with the rest of the boys in Bourbonnais.  Jumping into training camp a few days late, Briggs appeared to have put his contract woes behind him. 

Surrounded by fans eager for an autograph (I’m jealous I wasn’t there), the two-time Pro Bowler and weakside linebacker for the Bears did a complete 180 and opted to keep his comments to himself.  After causing a ruckus in the past month (or two or three) and saying that he never wanted to play for the Bears again, Briggs was a man of few words after practice. 

Surrounded by a horde of reporters Sunday, he barely completed a sentence and even posed the media’s questions to the fans asking, “They’re asking questions, you guys want to help me with them?” according to the Chicago Tribune.   As reporter David Haugh so eloquently put, “Suddenly, the player who used practically every cable network except QVC and Lifetime to complain publicly about his contract in the off-season has temporarily hit the personal mute button.”

After having at least half of Chicago on the edge of their seat while talks of franchise tags and salaries floated around ESPN and every sports page in the city, he’s not going to explain his sudden decision to not sit out the first 10 games of the season as he had threatened?  Now, don’t get me wrong I’m a fan of Briggs, and I enjoy his contribution to the team, but I still want to know why he did what he did.

This situation begs the question, does not saying anything fall under the definition of spin?  If you say nothing rather than offering an explanation is that spin?  Or is Brigg’s choice not to counter all the media hype about his contract problems a conscious choice not to contribute to spin?

You tell me. I’m too much of a Bear’s fan to make an unbiased decision.  — Angela Loiacono

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