*The End of the Road, Continued

[SwagSloth]

Several shocking details have surfaced in the wake of recent reports surrounding Eric Kennedy after the Yellowknife Wraiths made a big offseason trade to bring star Running Back Boss Tweed into their organization. After the trade broke out, Kennedy was discovered to be meeting with management to discuss his role with the organization and had reportedly been in contact with his lawyers in advance of the meeting.

Sometimes, in the rush to break a story, key details can be missed and that was apparently the case here. Big changes are indeed on the way in Yellowknife and Kennedy does appear to be on the way out, though not for the reasons initially reported. Kennedy has kept himself particularly quiet this offseason and the team has now come forward to reveal that Kennedy has been battling a potentially career-ending injury. The meeting that took place this week was scheduled to discuss business matters surrounding his contract with the organization. Long-term options were discussed, though it is believed at this point that any role he will serve going forward will not be in a physical capacity. Yellowknife is said to be hoping to settle the matter in-house and many within the team’s camp feel that he can still be essential to the team in an off-the-field role, despite some clear personality issues. To his credit, Kennedy’s representatives have corroborated this report, adding that Kennedy sought outside help for contractual consultation and is not seeking to bring the team to court as previously suggested.

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The confusion from earlier reports seems to stem from a meeting that took place in S6 around when Kennedy was removed from the lead back role and relegated into a receiving role, something that he apparently took as a demotion. The move resulted in a lot of frustration on his part, which led many close to the team to assume that the meeting’s subject matter was position-related when news of it first broke. Kennedy has, at times, had a perception in the locker room as a bit of a prima donna and has mentioned in several interviews that his goal was always to take over the lead back role. Though Kennedy has been dealing with an injury during the offseason, many of the people that knew of the injury expected him to bounce back and only those in owner Spike Crown’s inner circle were fully aware of the questions surrounding his long-term health. Even the team’s coaches were kept in the dark due to Kennedy’s close personal relationship with owner Spike Crown.

After news of the meeting leaked out, miscommunication within the organization caused matters to get more complicated as Kennedy’s name became attached to a trade with the Philadelphia Liberty. Teams often discuss trade possibilities leading up to the yearly draft and Spike Crown is typically protective of his talent, but the trade talks were apparently rushed in this case and the party negotiating on behalf of the team was unaware of the true status of Kennedy’s health. Once the trade was agreed to in principle, a source attached to the Liberty leaked out the news before Spike Crown could give final approval, at which point a call was made to the team’s ownership by Crown himself. This prompted the Wraiths to come forward and disclose all information out of respect for the Liberty and several other teams that were interested in trading for the former S5 co-MVP. As expected, the Liberty withdrew their offer after learning that Kennedy may never return to the field and, as a result, we now know the true cause of the recent rumors coming out of Yellowknife.

The injury itself appears to be concussion-related and ironically came as the result of a bad hit in the S6 NSFC Champion game against the Philadelphia Liberty of all teams. Though Kennedy is said to have suffered an alarming number of concussions in his five-year career, this particular instance was said to be one of the worst by far as Kennedy was briefly knocked out by a high-velocity tackle in the last 3 minutes of the game. He had just completed a 30-yard catch when he was taken down by Liberty CB Clifford Rove. For the record, Yellowknife officials note that they have reviewed the tape and the hit appears to be completely legal with the damage being the result a high-risk action on Kennedy’s part; Rove is not being held responsible in any capacity and continues to have a solid reputation as a clean defender. Kennedy was able to get back up from the play, but teammates became aware that something was wrong after Kennedy had trouble lining up for the following formation. The team then immediately pulled Kennedy out of the game, so that team doctors could examine him. This was thought by many to be the worst of it, though we know that the true extent of the damage was kept hidden until now.

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While unfortunate, the nature of this injury is not surprising. Kennedy has always displayed a very physical, dangerous running style and league scouts warned teams very early on that this might lead to a shorter career, something that likely contributed to his draft stock dropping so low as a prospect. As he began to integrate himself into the passing game early into his career, he quickly began to display the same type of physicality as a receiver. It generated positive short-term results for the team and helped to get him noticed, but trainers warned him as early as S3 that it could backfire if he continued to play that way. Reportedly, there were several scares on the field in S5 as Kennedy’s usage rose and the team began to utilize him as a starter on every down. Kennedy was said to being ramping up his physicality in order to “prove” that he belonged in a larger role. The most notable example was the Week 14 game against the Colorado Yeti, in which he was held to only one catch as officials limited his touches following a bad hit early into the game. Sadly, it appears to be a growing trend in the NSFL as several other players have also retired due to concussion-related injuries. As reported by several members of the team staff, everyone was led to believe that Kennedy would recover and return to the field for S7, but the team’s personal doctors still have yet to clear him and, at this point, do not expect to. The recent diagnosis that the injury was career-ending came a few weeks ago and seems to have been the main catalyst for bringing in Boss Tweed. Officials still see a lot of promise in the S6 rookie class Running Backs but didn’t want to commit to starting them unless coaches knew that they were ready for a larger role.

The team is said to be disappointed in this result and many within the organization are still coming to terms with the news after finding out from management earlier today. Owner Spike Crown was hoping to deliver the news to the staff and the rest of the league in a more delicate manner, but given the recent rumor developments, he decided that it was better to get all of the information out in the open, so that more false rumors did not continue to arise. Representatives of the Philadelphia Liberty have confirmed that the trade is now off the table and they appreciate Spike Crown’s haste in bringing the full details of the matter to their attention.

Kennedy’s representatives have opted release a brief message to the public.

“Eric Kennedy would like to thank the Yellowknife fans for their years of support and regrets that he is not expected to be able to return to the field and continue to play the game that he loves. He is asking for privacy as he is currently consulting with his doctors and weighing all of his options. He will make another announcement when he is ready to speak to the public.”

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