GREEN BAY, WIS. (AP) - Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy isn’t thrilled with the way a couple of his injured players chose to express their disappointment about potentially being left out of the Super Bowl team photo, saying they made a “poor decision” when they complained about it in public.
Still, the coach says it’s no big deal for the team to take the photo late next week so those players can be included.
“If that’s the biggest issue that we have in our preparation, we are going to have a hell of a week,” McCarthy said Thursday. “So it’s not that big of a deal.”
Earlier this week, linebacker Nick Barnett and tight end Jermichael Finley complained on their Twitter accounts that they weren’t going to be in the team photo. The photo typically would be taken at media day next Tuesday, and injured players are not scheduled to join the team in the Dallas area until next Thursday.
McCarthy says cornerback Charles Woodson and quarterback Aaron Rodgers brought the issue to his attention. McCarthy then decided to schedule the photo for next Friday instead.
The Packers list 16 players on injured reserve.
“It’s not that they are not part of the team,” McCarthy said. “They are in the photo. You want them in the photo and that’s important.”
McCarthy called the attention paid to the issue this week a “total overreaction,” but says other coaches have advised him to expect such distractions when a team is preparing to play in the Super Bowl.
“We’ll be as organized as we possibly can,” McCarthy said. “Something is going to be screwed up. I’ve been told that by a number of coaches. So you have to be able to let it roll off your back, and somebody else is going to get their feelings hurt. We’re going to continue to make sure that we do everything that’s in the best interests of getting our football team ready to win this game.”
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