Ken Williams: You Should Know Better

Ken Williams has done a remarkable job building the White Sox into a World Champion. He was able to do this without his team even being on anybody’s radar screen as recently as a year ago. He hired a young manager in Ozzie Guillen who was the absolute right choice to lead that team to a World Championship. He built a team around pitching, defense, and some offense, especially from Paul Konerko. That pitching performed as well this past postseason as any in recent memory. Ken Williams was the toast of Chicago….and then he opened his mouth.

Two days ago, Williams ripped Frank Thomas apart like a Lion on a Wildebeest. Yes, the same Frank Thomas who starred in a big way for the Sox for 16 long years. The same Frank Thomas who was the face of the franchise when they were not much to look at. Williams called Thomas selfish. He called Thomas an idiot. He said the slugger had a bad attitude and was a whiner. Then he went a step further and put all his players squarely in the middle by saying none of them missed having Thomas around.

Not only is it out of line for a GM to be saying these things about a former star player, but by putting his players in the middle, he risks future acrimony with that group, who ultimately might question he allegiance to his players when he ripped the franchise's brightest star on the way out, or may use this chip when trying to negotiate a few extra bucks during an acrimonious contract squabble. Look, I love when a public sports figure is outspoken and candid, and says it like it is. But you have to be smart about where to draw that line, and use that candor for a purpose.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that a single thing that came out of Williams mouth was erroneous. He may well have been right about everything he said. But didn’t his parents do what every parent does, and tell him if he did not have anything nice to say do not say anything at all. That saying should go double when you are the leader of an organization, whether or sports team or something else. It should go triple when the defamed is a guy who was at least at one point beloved in your city and the pride of your franchise.

I am not a Chicago resident, and I am not a White Sox fan, but I would imagine this act of beating a man after he had already been run out of town will gain the Big Hurt some sympathy from the Sox fan base for having his feelings hurt big. Maybe not. Maybe Williams has been anointed in such a way that he can say whatever he wants, about whoever he wants, and get away with it. My guess, even if the latter is the case, is that in a few years, when the wins slow down, and Frank Thomas again is viewed fondly as one of the best players ever to don a Sox uni, that this tirade will resurface and burn Williams.

If I were sitting down with Williams and interviewing him, I would have but one question for him. Why? What were you hoping to accomplish with your comments? Wouldn’t you have been better off just letting this pass? Thomas is gone, what could he gain by getting into this nastiness now? Yes, I realize that was four questions, and not one, but you get my point. Take the high road, Ken. You are already at the top of the mountain, there is nowhere to go but down. Stay there as long as you can and enjoy the view.

Now, can we put this behind us so we can focus on college basketball. March starts tomorrow!

Note: Picture courtesy of whitesox.com