Is Greg Ellis Sorry?

Most have no trouble spotting sorriness when they see it in, say, Terrell Owens or Randy Moss. The flamboyant athlete in a team sport, the one who seems to exude the me-first mentality is an easy mark. So, when T.O. had his little was-it-a-suicide-attempt-or-not thing last year, or when he missed most of training camp and hammed it up on his stationary bike while the rest of the team beat the dog out of each other, sports pundits had no problem saying, "Heeere we go again!"

But then there are the "good guys," the "team players." You know, the guys who are always courteous to the media and go about their business quietly and toe the company line. Guys like, oh, I don't know, Greg Ellis. Greg Ellis, a team captain. Greg Ellis, an upstanding guy. Greg Ellis, a hard worker.

Greg Ellis, a bum? Maybe! Consider that the Cowboys' trainers have said, since way back in training camp, that Ellis was fine to play as far as they could tell. Consider that he missed all of training camp, all of the preseason, and three regular season games. Consider that as soon as Jerry Jones stepped up and said that if Greg would play, he would purchase an additional $2 million dollar insurance policy for the player out of his own pocket to get him on the field, Ellis felt well enough to play the very next game. Jerry essentially agreed to work out a new deal for a player who was under contract, a player who had signed a deal, and a nice one, of his own volition, and then decided it wasn't good enough and he didn't want to be a Cowboy anymore.

Ellis has basically held Jones and the Cowboys hostage for two years. He has pissed and moaned to the media over and over. He has insisted that he wasn't sure he was healthy enough to play...until...he got what he wanted. Then, voila, he is miraculously cured, plays against the Rams, and records a sack and gets credit for half of another.

So, this "team" player abandoned his teammates, deserted his post, contemplated retirement (yeah right), and rode the pine until Jones ponied up. Credit Jerry for putting the team's interests ahead of his own sense of propriety and accommodating Ellis. But be wary, Cowboys' fans, of the fallout. What will happen the next time a player is unhappy with his contract? Will he remember Ellis and suddenly develop a phantom injury?

I know, I know! Ellis' injury was serious, the kind that can be difficult to come back from, the kind that can end a career. But it didn't; he healed. He got better. And he did not retire. He just refused to play until he got what he wanted.

Sometimes that whole team player or team cancer thing is murkier water than anyone cares to admit. But, hey, the Cowboys are 4-0 and riding high.

So, who cares, right?