When LaDainian Tomlinson enters the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Antonio Gates should be there Saturday in Canton, Ohio.
Two Chargers greats, together again.
How can anyone mess this up?
Well, it looks like the new-fangled Los Angeles Chargers just might. They're taking a page out of their San Diego playbook for making things more difficult than necessary.
Two sources told Sporting News that new coach Anthony Lynn is insisting Gates instead participate in the team's first training camp session at the team's stadium, the small soccer venue. One source said Gates is considering going to Ohio, anyway, even if the trip draws a fine.
When asked if Gates (and Philip Rivers) can go to Canton, the rookie head coach was evasive.
"Look," Lynn said, "I've talked to Philip, I've talked to Antonio, I even talked to LT. We're all on the same page. At the end of the day, we're going to make the best decision for our football team, and that's it, that's it."
Has the decision been made?
"Uh, no, I don't know," Lynn said. "We've talked about it, and trust me, I have a personal friend who's going into the Hall of Fame, and I coached LT, Terrell Davis, I'd love to be there, and I know how important that is, and how big of an accomplishment that is, so I get it, I get it."
In what appears to be a Chargers blunder, the team booked its first scrimmage with its L.A. rival, the Rams, at roughly the same time (4:30 p.m.) that Tomlinson _ whom the team hired as an ambassador this past offseason _ will be inducted.
So, Gates was put in conflict.
"Those guys are torn a little bit because we're having our first practice in StubHub with the Rams, and they want to be there with their teammates," Lynn said. "We'll see. I'm sure they'll make the best decision."
Asked to clarify who will make the decision, Lynn said: "It will be our decision. We'll make the best decision for our team."
Rivers, understandably, will practice against the Rams.
He's the quarterback and, truth be told, he's not as close to LT as Gates is.
Gates and Tomlinson are good friends who were teammates on five San Diego Chargers teams that reached the playoffs.
Gates _ who was not available for comment Monday _ routinely gets "veterans' rest" days in training camp because he's old for the job.
Why not expand one rest day into a special off day?
Have Gates fly on the private jet of team owner Dean Spanos, allowing Spanos to look like a problem-solver. Here's the explainer: when perhaps the great player in team history goes into the Hall of Fame, an exception can be made for a longtime teammate.
Lynn's job is to set and enforce rules.
Improving the team's "toughness," he said, is primary to building a winning culture.
He's right. This team needs to be tougher, especially mentally.
So now, Lynn is in a bit of a pickle. If Gates is allowed to go to Canton, it may look like the coach is buckling to outside pressure. If he orders Gates to take part in phase one of the over-hyped "Fight For L.A." that is a Chargers marketing creation, he denies Gates a moment of a lifetime.
All players and coaches make sacrifices for the greater good. But this moment seems to fall within the football family.
"I'm not mad at (Gates and Rivers) if they go (to Canton)," said the team's starting nose tackle, Brandon Mebane, who went to two Super Bowls with the Seattle Seahawks. "LT was their teammate, and (Gates is) very close to him. It's special. It's a special day. I don't have a problem with it."
Mebane then laughed and said: "I just work here, I'm just an employee. I don't know anything."
