Steve Young sort of admits to not being fully committed to job....or football

quote:

---

Steve Young recently admitted to lacking full commitment to his job as an ESPN NFL analyst. He also seemed to lack a full commitment to explaining that he truly has a full commitment to his job as a football analyst.

The situation emerged from a profile of Young penned by a non-sports publication.

“My wife hates football, and my kids don’t really care,” Young told Alex Sherman of Bloomberg Businessweek. “I see myself as a deal guy first. I’ve put football behind me. Roger Staubach once told me — and I’ll never forget it: ‘When you retire, run. Never look back.'”

Sherman explains that Young “may have quit ESPN years ago if not for his private equity partners, who like him to keep a high profile,” and that Young “spends no more than an hour or two at the stadium” preparing for what he’ll say on the air.

“Once the game starts, he barely watches the action,” Sherman writes..

---

quote:

---

It’s a horrible look for Young, and for the network that’s paying him to do more than the bare minimum — or to do something other than leverage a platform on ESPN to enhance the nine-figure dealmaking abilities of a private equity firm. It’s no surprise that Young is downplaying his words.

However, his effort to downplay his words isn’t very convincing.

“I participated in this story to encourage athletes to think about their futures because I want to inspire them to think this way,” Young told Michael McCarthy of SportingNews.com. “I have worked hard to build an expertise in two different fields, and I am proud of that. I have built one over the course of 35 years as a football player and analyst. The other, in private equity, I’ve established over 18 years. I’m focused on being excellent at both — and without sacrificing one for the other. Staying connected to the game and working for ESPN are very meaningful to me. In no way did I intend to suggest otherwise.”

---