Only now can the full story be told.
Just before Rosh Hashanah, I drank too much manishevitz and outed some 18-year old seminarian blogger.
Then I went to the Crowne Plaza on Pico and Beverwil and got into a fight with my bodyguard. It was just for fun at first but things turned ugly and the police were called.
For conduct detrimental to the league of Orthodox Judaism, I was put on suspension for a month.
My shul president says he doesn’t regret giving me a chance.
"I don’t," Jerry said. "I knew the risk. I do. Most situations have inherent risks.
"I regret the negative publicity for the shul and I regret the negative publicity for the Jews.
"On the other hand, financially there hasn’t been any risk significantly certainly. He never really paid dues but he didn’t steal anything. He davened seven years for us and davened well. I know others thought he could’ve davened better, but he davened well when he wasn’t reading some damn book."
(Cut out some Jerry rambling.)
"I don’t regret it at all. It is important for me to recognize how important it can be for a young man to have this curtain come up, change his behavior and do it with the carrot out there of being a player in Orthodox Judaism. It can work. The odds may be long, but it can work. Any time we have a chance to have those things converge – good for the shul as well as good for the player – you’re going to have a good listener with me. A good listener.
"He’s a hard worker and I’m not trying to make his case. His case has been made, that’s a fact. But he’s a hard worker and you have to have that before I would even look at it."
Meanwhile, my Jewish coach took a dimmer view of my behavior.
"I can’t count on him coming back or us bringing him back or any of those other things," Phillips said.
Ford isn’t a part of the team anymore, according to Phillips, who didn’t seem really confident that the blogger could convince the rabbi to allow him to play for the shul again.
"He’s gone," Phillips said. "That’s what it looks like to me. I’m not saying what’s going to happen in the future, because I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future or what is or isn’t going to be done there. But I can’t go there. I’ve got to go with the players I have."
According to the AP, Georgia authorities won’t attempt to revoke my probation because I wasn’t arrested.
I am also on probation in Nevada for my role in that strip club shootout.
I began sensitivity training Thursday at an undisclosed location in Pico-Robertson.
Working with two friends, I’ve begun the process of trying to get back into the shul after my suspension three weeks ago.
I’ll be able to apply for reinstatement after four Shabbatot.
TELLER says: "I believe in freedom. I believe everybody should say exactly what he pleases and that people with better ideas should speak up in argument. Ford does not seem to be the most sensitive person around, but, he’s a blogger, so what’s new (sorry if that seems insensitive and stereotypical)? You think he’s an asshole — great. Speak up. But put things in perspective. Maybe Ford has bad manners (oh, here I go again: a blogger with bad manners? Well, I never!). So you teach him better manners, but that’s the end of it. It’s only an issue to people with a lot of time on their hands and a lot of media space to fill up. Me, I’m happy to let people hear him for themselves and make their own call."
