THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 19, 1996 TAG: 9607190626
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FROSTBURG, MD. LENGTH: 94 lines
Although it was just the first day of training camp, Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell Green told a story Thursday that will be difficult for his teammates to beat.
Green said he telephoned an adviser to Michael Irvin after the Dallas Cowboys receiver's arrest on drug charges and offered to have Irvin stay with him and his wife because ``maybe there was something I could help him with.''
Green said the adviser never called back with Irvin's response. ``Maybe he didn't have time,'' Green said evenly, ``but I never heard from him.''
Green, who said that he and Irvin are better friends than they are portrayed, nonetheless expressed anger with and concern for troubled pro athletes like Irvin, who pleaded no contest to felony drug charges Tuesday.
``I'm mad,'' Green said. ``I want to see him helped because he's a human being, but also because I'm going to be identified with him.
``When Michael Irvin did what he did, he did it to himself. He also did it to the NFL. When people look at athletes these days, they look first at the money. Then they talk about who he's raped lately, who he's stolen from, who he's embezzled from. We're all stained.''
Green, whose Darrell Green Foundation works with underprivileged youth in the nation's capital, said he sees Irvin and Dexter Manley as examples of what's wrong with family life in America.
``I put them in the same category with little James or little Kenny, kids I deal with in the foundation,'' Green said. ``They're just the same, only older.
``When I look at Irvin, I have empathy, but they're childish mistakes. A kid makes those mistakes because he's off-balance in his life.''
Green said he asked Irvin to appear at a fund-raiser for his foundation not long before Irvin was caught in a hotel with drugs and two topless dancers.
``I had to call and say I was withdrawing my invitation,'' Green said. ``Someone like that doesn't represent what the foundation represents. The guy who answered the phone said he'd been expecting me to call. They knew.''
Green spoke just as passionately about the Redskins. When someone said free-agent safeties Stanley Richard and James Washington never lived up to their billing, Green agreed.
``I think they tried to do some things extra,'' Green said. ``If they will just do what what they can do, do what we know they can do, we won't need anything extra.
``None of us did what all we could do last year. If all of us do, we're a playoff team.''
AN OUTDOOR SPORT?: Jim Kitts, a linebacker candidate from Great Bridge High School and Ferrum College, realized the first page of a book of dreams Thursday when he participated in his first NFL practice.
Kitts was signed away from Albany of the Arena Football League, where he played fullback and linebacker.
``Could have been better,'' Kitts said when asked about practice. ``I've haven't played football outdoors for three years. It's going to take some time to regain my feel.''
Kitts' best chance of making the Redskins would be on special teams. At linebacker, he's behind Derrick Brownlow, Matt Vanderbeek and Dion Foxx on the Redskins' list of potential backups to All-Pro Ken Harvey.
``When I signed with Albany, they were going to keep two fullback/ linebackers,'' he said. ``I know what it's like to work my way up from the very bottom.''
STARTING AT QB: Heath Shuler started with the first unit Thursday morning, though coach Norv Turner went out of his way to insist it meant absolutely nothing.
``We went through all the drills we had during the spring and we alternated practices where Heath had the first team, then Gus. Turns out we ended our last spring practice with Gus, so this practice we had to start Heath.
``And if you believe that. . . '' Turner said, suddenly smiling. ``C'mon, somebody had to start with the first group. Today it was Heath; tomorrow, Gus will work with the first group.''
RED CROSS: There were two noteworthy injuries from the morning practice session.
First, tight end Scott Galbraith suffered a knee sprain while blocking during a rushing drill. There was no swelling in Galbraith's knee, which trainer Bubba Tyer indicated was a good sign for a swift recovery.
A couple of plays later, fourth-year running back Reggie Brooks bruised his left knee. Brooks, who wasn't wearing knee pads, wasn't hurt seriously and participated in the afternoon workout.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Rookie running back Stephen Davis.
The fourth-round pick from Auburn had the best first practice of any offensive skill-position player. He ran hard, ran over a couple of would-be tacklers, caught a couple of passes despite a driving rain, and exhibited some of the same cutback moves that made veteran Terry Allen so effective last season.
``I thought he looked good,'' Turner said. ``He's looked good in everything we've asked him to do. He caught the ball extremely well today, considering how wet it was. He's got a naturalness to the way he runs and I thought he looked real good today.''
There's speculation already that Davis is being groomed as the back of the future, one reason the Redskins signed Allen to just a one-year contract the other day. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Redskins tight end Scott Galbraith receives attention from trainer
Bubba Tyer after spraining his knee. He's listed as day-to-day. by CNB