Alabama football parrots disrespect stance vs Oklahoma | Goodbread
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Alabama football players aren’t changing the way they answer questions about disrespect.
In fact, they really don’t move at all off a response that appears to be coordinated in some way, if not scripted. Perhaps team captains thought a uniform stance was best, or maybe the idea came from a coach, or a support staffer, or a walk-on. But I couldn’t help but notice the pattern.
Way back in July at SEC Media Days in Atlanta, here’s what DL Tim Keenan said about Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos’ brash preseason comments on the Crimson Tide’s season opener against the Seminoles: “Disrespect will be addressed.”
Less than 50 feet away, linebacker Deontae Lawson was asked the same question, and his response sounded eerily familiar.
“All disrespect will be addressed,” Lawson said, parroting Keenan.
Five months later, the Crimson Tide is preparing for a College Football Playoff game at Oklahoma, feeling disrespected all over again. In the wake of OU’s 23-21 win over Alabama in November, a handful of Sooners players stood on the Alabama logo at the Saban Field 50-yard line and took pictures while a UA staffer tried to rope the logo off. That hasn’t been forgotten by players, nor has the canned wording of their position on it.
“That type of disrespect will be addressed on the field,” linebacker Justin Jefferson said, referring to the Sooners’ logo breach.
Alabama fans sincerely hope it’s addressed better on Friday night than it was in Tallahassee. Castellanos had said that “Nick Saban can’t save them,” and that the Crimson Tide couldn’t stop him. In a 31-17 FSU win, it didn’t. The only addressing to come of it was the addresses to which Castellanos shipped T-shirts reading “Nick Can’t Save Them.” After a 5-7 FSU season, those shirts might now be oil rags in garages all over Tallahassee, but Castellanos made his money on them just the same.
Now comes another addressing chance, as Alabama travels to OU on Saturday (7:30 p.m. CT, ABC/ESPN) for a first-round CFP game. UA coach Kalen DeBoer initially was taken aback to hear about Oklahoma’s 50-yard line activity, but then recalled hearing about it.
“I guess I wasn’t aware of that,” DeBoer said. “Now I am, so I’m gonna talk to our team about it. … I do remember something vaguely about that. It hasn’t even been a conversation in our meetings.”
Not surprising. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t come up in the locker room. And the way players approach it appears to have come up, as well.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football parrots familiar disrespect stance ahead of Oklahoma
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