By Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press –
DETROIT — Hall of Famer Barry Sanders isn’t blaming the Lions’ organization for players’ off-season legal troubles.
At a ceremony honoring his legacy at the Detroit Historical Museum on Tuesday, he said players are responsible for their actions, and it’s impossible for coach Jim Schwartz to babysit grown men.
“As a coach, there is only so much you can do,” Sanders said after he cast handprints as part of the museum’s Detroit Legends Plaza exhibit. “You are dealing with young men, and you can’t babysit them.
“As much as they are in your organization, they are a part of your family. But they go off and they have to make quick decisions on their own.”
Lions training camp opened Friday after an off-season that saw seven arrests or citations in seven months involving players. Fans are worried about distractions, but the NFL’s No. 3 all-time-leading rusher didn’t seem alarmed.
“It’s unfortunate, and I think (Schwartz) will deal with it accordingly.”
The Lions are coming off a 10-6 season that has raised expectations among fans. But Sanders cautioned those who think it’s only natural for the Lions to build on last season’s postseason appearance.
“You expect them to build (off last season), but you realize that given last year’s success that every team in the division has been studying film in the off-season to see what they can do to stop (Matthew) Stafford and (Calvin) Johnson, so those guys will have to evolve their games and step their games up, so it will be interesting to see if they can do that,” Sanders said. “I think they will.”
But Tuesday was about looking at Sanders’ contributions to the Lions and his Detroit legacy.
Sanders played 10 seasons with the Lions before retiring in 1998. He was the NFL’s leading rusher four times and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
His cast will join the likes of Dave Bing and Joe Dumars in the exhibit that is scheduled to open outside the museum in September.
“I appreciated the game, and I think I tried to show that when I played,” Sanders said. “It’s a great game. It’s terrific when you can sort of stand out and be honored in this way.
“I think no matter what I accomplished in the game, I always played hard, and I always tried to treat the game with respect.”