SUPER BOWL XXVIII / DAILY REPORT : Players Don’t See Red Over Georgia Flag

Amid talk of blitzes and blocking schemes, the Buffalo Bills’ Cornelius Bennett was moved Tuesday to speak about the time his father gave him a historical tour of downtown Birmingham, Ala.

“My father was 73 years old, and he had seen it all,” recalled Bennett, who is black. “He took me and showed me the Alabama state capitol, and told me some of the things that had happened there.

“He showed me various water fountains, and told me what had happened there.”

Bennett sighed and pondered the original question. Was he bothered by state of Georgia’s refusal to lower the state flag--containing a Confederate flag--outside the Georgia Dome for the Super Bowl on Sunday?

“I guess when I think of the flag I think, no matter (how much) people look at it, it’s not going to stop us anymore,” he said. “It’s just a symbol of a culture now. And nothing anybody tries to do can change that.”

This reaction was shared by several players Tuesday, their subdued reaction contrasting with local protest over the flag decision.

Essentially, players from both teams either said that they believe the Georgia flag is merely another state flag, or that it is not the time or place to put up a fight.

After refusing to hold a Super Bowl in Phoenix several years ago because of the Martin Luther King Day controversy, the league has decided to avoid this issue.

With the flag being flown outside the dome, instead of over the playing field, it is remaining neutral.

So are the players.

“I’m a black first, and a player second, but right now, I’m just dealing with being a Cowboy,” said the Cowboys’ Nate Newton, of Orlando, Fla. “After the Super Bowl, I will give you my true feelings, but why say anything now, when everybody has been working so hard to get here?

“This game is the biggest thing for all of us this week. Why not keep it that way?”

Bennett, formerly of the University of Alabama, said he would get angry when he saw campus groups waving the Confederate battle flag.

“But now, you know, we have enough pushing and fighting over other things,” he said. “I’m satisfied that most people don’t look at the flag like they used to.”

Kent Hull, a white from Mississippi, is also satisfied that most view the Georgia flag differently.

“That flag is part of my heritage and contains no symbolism whatsoever,” Hull said. “It’s got nothing to do with slavery. Nothing to do with racism. New York has a state flag, and Georgia has a state flag. That’s all it is.”

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Representatives from both teams are worried that the salary cap will prevent them from continuing their Super Bowl streaks.

“There will be a lot of changes--there has to be changes, because of that terrible agreement we signed,” said Michael Irvin, Cowboy receiver. “It’s just a matter of how much.”

John Butler, general manager of the Bills, said, “Ultimately, there will be fewer great teams because the agreement brings everybody together. It disturbs me that we will not reward scouting and development, but instead reward the guy who has money left over under the cap.”

Under the agreement, Feb. 17 is the date of reckoning. After that, every team must be under the salary cap. Many veterans with long-term, non-guaranteed deals expect to be releasedthen.

But not everybody is predicting doom.

“Hey, Jerry Jones dissed CBS in the TV negotiations, didn’t he?” asked Newton of the Cowboys. “If he can do that, he can keep this team together.”

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The Cowboys have spent the last two weeks saying that Coach Jimmy Johnson does not treat all players the same and guard Kevin Gogan offered an example.

“I remember once when Michael Irvin came in late to a meeting,” Gogan said, holding his hand high. “Jimmy looked back at him and said, ‘That’s OK, Michael, because you’re up here. With Jimmy, you’ve got guys up there, and guys way down.”