Robert Henson did not get on the field on Sunday, but somehow he's the talk of the town and strangely enough he's a big headline in The Washington Post.
Henson, emotional and upset at hearing fans express disapproval through boos at Sunday's game, sent a Twitter to those people who follow him. Within minutes the media picked up on it and angry fans took issue with the rookie linebacker's comment that "I dislike you very strongly, don't come to FedEx to boo dim wits!"
Later, Henson would tweet the following: "I love this city and the rich tradition, it makes me play and study harder. Because I wanna be a part of the history, you guys can bash me. To all the fans who still love us thanks and we play hard for you!!"
Realizing his mistake, Henson quickly Twittered further.
"Listen Twitter family I was really upset abut being booed ... and I said some things that were out of line. So keep supporting us and we will keep playing hard for you all ... Again I'm sorry. I apologize for all earlier comments about and to the fans."
Henson met with head coach Jim Zorn at Redskins Park on Monday. Later, he appeared genuinely contrite when he spoke with reporters at Redskins Park.
"I understand the weight that my words carried and how I offended some fans. For that, again, I apologize. I updated my Twitter and updated every other social network I was on and I apologized. Not because I am scared, but because it is the right thing to do," he said.
"I sincerely apologize to all the fans. I hope to have a long, prosperous career here. I don't want anybody booing me and being negative towards me because if you saw me at training camp I sat out there for hours signing autographs. I love doing this and the fans are what keeps me going."
Zorn said of Henson: "Robert is a young player learning to handle his emotions during and after the game. When he gets a chance to play, I want him to have this level of emotion on the field, not off the field. We had a good conversation about supporting the Redskins and the Redskins fans, and he's learned from this experience."
Henson's apologies on Twitter and in his Monday media session--as well as Zorn's comments on the young linebacker--were not fully included in a Tuesday story in The Washington Post. The article focused more on the mistake and not the contrition.
In contrast, while the *Post *and other media used the incident as an example of irrational behavior, Henson was scheduled to spend Tuesday with more than 40 burn survivors on a tour of FedExField.
Henson arranged this event weeks ago. He lost his 10-year-old brother in a house fire in 1997 and intends to share the story of his family tragedy with the burn survivors.
As Henson tries to launch a professional career with the Redskins, he is hoping to move on from a mistake he has quickly acknowledged.
