Butts Pins the Blame on Team : Football: Running back said the Chargers misled him.
SAN DIEGO — Running back Marion Butts said Wednesday he has been misled by the Chargers, and insisted they will have to give him a new contract or play without him in 1991.
“It’s that simple,” he said. “It’s no bluff.”
The Chargers have declined to speak to Butts’ representatives and General Manager Bobby Beathard said the team would not redo Butts’ contract. He said the Chargers were making plans to play the 1991 season without him.
“There is nothing to talk about,” Beathard said. “We’re not going to do anything to his contract and they are not going to talk us into it.
“Anytime you lose your leading rusher it’s a concern, but it’s not as if we don’t have other running backs. If Rod Bernstine stays healthy, he’s a terrific running back.”
Butts returned to San Diego Wednesday from his home in Georgia and said he had decided not to report to training camp on July 17th unless the team honored its pledge to renegotiate. He said the Chargers promised him a new contract if he performed up to expectations in 1990.
Butts gained a club-record 1,225 yards and finished third in the National Football League in rushing despite missing the final two games with a foot injury.
“I came into the league with nothing. I haven’t even talked money with the Chargers,” Butts said. “I’m not holding out for money; I’m holding out for principle. It’s honesty. If a person tells me something, I believe he should come through.”
The Chargers reworked Butts’ contract before last season, and increased his base salary from $85,000 to $195,000. He is to receive a base salary of $225,000 this year. The new contract also provided for reporting and workout bonuses and a series of incentives that allowed Butts to collect $417,500 in 1990.
“If I’m lying, release me,” he said. “I was told that if I went out and had a good year it would be no problem walking right back into his (Beathard) office. He said, ‘Your contract will be nullified.’ Void. Renegotiated.
“I want to play for the Chargers and I’m not trying to make Bobby Beathard look bad,” he said. “But I know what was said to me.”
Butts said the Chargers’ promise was a oral one.
“If a man of very high caliber tells you something,” he said, “you don’t really say, ‘OK, put it in writing.’ You don’t want to insult the person by saying that. You have to trust people; if there’s no trust, what else is there?”
Beathard said he made no such promise to Butts. He said Butts had been “convinced” by agent Mike Merkow into “remembering something he wants to remember.
“I don’t believe Marion is lying,” Beathard said. “I believe there is a real misunderstanding on Marion’s part. I told Marion, ‘If you play well, we’ll always take care of you.’ And if he continues to play the way he has, he’s going to make a lot of money.”
Butts said he was “calling the shots,” and he said it would be his decision to sit out the season.
George Schultz, Butts’ attorney, said he and his client remained mystified by the team’s stance.
“The thing Marion and I don’t understand is, why wouldn’t you want to pay Marion?” he said. “A Marion Butts comes along once every 10 years. You take the kind of football player he is and the kind of person he is, and why wouldn’t they want to pay him?
“I think the bigger question than what Bobby said to Marion and Marion said to Bobby is what’s going on with (James) Brooks and (Jim) Lachey and Gary Anderson and Fred Dean? Hell, even (Kellen) Winslow and (Dan) Fouts went out not happy. What’s so weird about the concept of financially rewarding your top employees?”
Beathard said he was willing to meet with Butts, but if Butts plays for the Chargers this season, Beathard said, it will be under the terms of his present contract.
Charger Notes
General Manager Bobby Beathard is in Dallas today for a meeting with NFL owners. He took advantage of the visit to meet with Chris Dorsey, best friend and adviser of the team’s No. 1 draft choice, Stanley Richard. Beathard has received a contract proposal from Richard’s agent, but he said the two sides remained far apart with the opening of camp July 15. Richard is expected to be the team’s starting free safety this season. The team has reached agreement with three of its 15 draft choices.
