Last updated on December 24, 2024
San Francisco 49ers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell declined to play in a game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The backstory is that Campbell had been a starter for much of the season (12 of 13 games) and had been assigned to a backup role due to the return of Dre Greenlaw from an Achilles tendon tear in last year’s Super Bowl.
It appears that Greenlaw asked to be subbed out of the game (due to soreness in his recently surgically repaired Achilles), at which time Campbell refused to enter the game as instructed by the coaching staff.
I shall tell you that, in the world of sport this is . . . well . . . not something you do.
Many pundits are, quite rightly so, heavily criticizing Campbell:
Former NFL player and current pundit Bart Scott tried to “provide some context” for Campbell’s actions. Let’s just say it didn’t go well:
I might like to suggest, looking at this situation from a leadership perspective, that we analyze this situation in the manner often suggested by multiple leadership pundits:
Let’s seek to understand before we act.
That is all.
Yes, Campbell’s actions were entirely inconsistent with team sport. (You don’t abandon your teammates. You use your abilities with your best effort to support the whole.)
Yes, Campbell absolutely deserves a consequence. (Including, potentially, the consequence of being waived (essentially fired) and, of course, financial consequences.)
All I’m saying is that, as leaders, if we’re gonna talk about it, we need to be about it.
One should not abandon a process just because the abandonment is convenient or expedient. The leadership process deserves full execution. Even though his actions were entirely inappropriate, Campbell deserves it, too. So does the team and the organization. For integrity and other reasons.
We hear about processes all the time in leadership and sport.
I’m advocating only for the generally-espoused “understand before you act” step.
That is all.
Comments