Add Emmitt Smith to the laundry list of folks who, for some reason or another, have taken issue with Washington Redskins' owner, the petite and loaded, Daniel Snyder.
Smith, speaking to SLAM Magazine, took a shot at Snyder; then another; then, yes, another. Exactly what the owner did to draw the ire of the newly enshrined Hall of Famer, we're unsure. But it must have had something to do with compassion, or, as Emmitt sees it, a lack thereof.
"I loved defeating the Redskins. I loved it, I loved it, I loved it with a passion," said Smith, per the Dallas Morning News. "And I loved it more when Daniel Snyder got the team, for a number of reasons. I did. Because here is a guy who thought he could build a football team just because he has the money to buy players. There's more to it than that.
"And he's not a compassionate person, not a compassionate person at all from what I understand. And that makes me just want to pummel somebody. You know, you hate to see pride, wearing itself on his forehead and his chest. And to me, arrogance sticks out like a sore thumb when you talk about him. And the lack of compassion for others is a problem. Because it's not that hard to be compassionate; you just choose to.''
In a dry, political sort of statement released by the team, Snyder countered this weekend. Here, one might say that Snyder is taking the high road; but given Snyder's stature, it's unlikely that he can reach any high road without the help of a large stack of phone books or a stool.
"I applaud Emmitt Smith's induction into the NFL Hall of Fame and, from what I understand, he's a heck of a dancer,'' Snyder said. "I think we've only met once briefly at an NFL function in 2000. I will say, however, that I like to think of myself as being a compassionate person, except toward the Dallas Cowboys.''
