After airing his grievances via Twitter over the weekend, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali switched social media gears Tuesday to Facebook Live in an effort to diffuse the situation.
The twelfth-year veteran, a respected team leader, originally spoke out about his role with the club, specifically his reduced playing time in key games. He further questioned the absences of key players during offseason workouts.
"I think it got blown out of proportion," Hali explained Tuesday. "All I was trying to say is at the end of the day, I love the game. I just want to bring the Kansas City Chiefs a championship.
"What happened last year, I just wanted to win. I think anybody can bear with me and understand the frustration of losing a game in the playoff and barely playing. Being the competitor of myself, you just want to win. That was basically what the rant was about."
Now that Hali has vented, he insists he's "all-in" for the Chiefs this season.
"All the guys at the chiefs understand. I'm one of those guys that love to compete and continue to compete at a high level. I don't feel like I'm done. And I just wanted to know where we're going."
As far as holding the valuable Chiefs players to a higher standard, it's easy to see why Hali feels a sense of urgency in his twilight football years.
"You need your leaders to be around. We have a young team. Sometimes you have to point fingers at your leaders and let them know 'You guys, you gotta be around. You gotta be around.' I've been here 12 years. I'm not getting any younger," he explained. "I'm not going to play the game forever. There's going to come a day where I have to be done playing. And time is running out for us to win a championship. I think coach Reid and his staff has assembled some of the best coaches and players on this team so we can go ahead and make a run. We just need to make sure everybody is on board here and understand what's at stake here."
If you're keeping track at home, there are just six more Sundays before regular-season football action renders these summertime soap operas obsolete.
