Even in victory, the Miami Dolphins cannot help but shoot themselves in the foot sometimes. After reports surfaced that Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland called an unruly fan the kind of name not normally used to describe paying customers during the team's game on Sunday at Sun Life Stadium, Ireland has issued a public apology.
On Tuesday morning, multiple eyewitnesses called 790 AM "The Ticket" to report that a fan approached Ireland in the concourse at Sun Life Stadium during halftime. The fan, a Dolphins season ticket holder, voiced his displeasure with the state of the team, and suggested that Ireland fire himself.
Ireland responded by saying "Good suggestion," then as he turned to walk away, punctuated it with an expletive for anus that rhymes with "glass bowl."
Ireland released a statement through the team later Tuesday. "It did happen at halftime and I was going back to my booth after seeing my wife and I did talk to several fans that were very nice," Ireland said. "But as I'm walking back this guy introduces himself to me and says I should fire myself.
"It caught me off guard. I just turned and walked away but I did say the word. I regret I used the word I used. I thought I was using it under my breath. I guess I kind of said it loud enough that he could hear it. I literally said it under my breath. At the time I felt I handled the situation pretty good. Probably muttered it a little too loud. I regret that I said anything."
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It's impossible to find a good guy in this story. Ireland has many detractors, and criticism of his leadership and personnel moves is not difficult to come by (we have criticized many of his moves on this site).
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But it is hard to feel too sorry for the fan who was the target of Ireland's insult. Surely he knew that the only benefit he would gain by confronting Ireland at the game was catharsis.
To be fair, Ireland is no angel, either (he is the same person who is most famous for reportedly asking then-prospect Dez Bryant in 2010 if his mother was ever a prostitute).
But the lesson everyone learns in kindergarten still applies: two wrongs don't make a right.
