Caldwell Says He Wouldn't Have A Job If He Acted Like Some Of The Presidential Candidates
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
A whole lot changed during the Lions' bye week.
Most notably, Donald Trump became President of the United States.
Jim Caldwell met with reporters on Monday for the first time since that landmark event, and it quickly became a topic of discussion. The Lions' coach understandably tip-toed around the subject, but suggested a measure of disappointment in the general conduct of some of the candidates.
"I think the big thing is that to me, what's important - and this is all I'm going to say about it - leadership is important. I do know for a fact that had I voiced some of the same opinions as some of our candidates, I probably wouldn't have a job within five minutes that I walked off this stage, and some of you as well. But yet a person can become the leader of the free world," Caldwell said. "So it's a different time and place, and we're moving forward."
With the Lions convening as a team for the first time since the election, Caldwell was asked if he intends to deliver a message to his players on a potentially divisive subject.
"I think we have a lot of very intelligent, free-thinkers that certainly have a sense of direction and what they like and don't like and what they respect and don't respect and things of that nature. I don't have to talk about it," Caldwell said. "We're going to talk about football at this point in time. That's all we're going to talk about."
Last week, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy went on a six-minute diatribe against Trump and his supporters. But Caldwell was careful to go in the other direction.
"I've tried to always use this platform for what it's meant for, and that's obviously to talk about our team and those kinds of things," he said. "The other things I leave to a private setting of some sort."
