By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer
ASHBURN, Va.(AP) -- Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Greg
Blache broke his media silence Thursday to defend the man who
pays his salary, saying "Enough's enough" when it comes to
criticism of owner Dan Snyder.
Blache said he was moved to speak after reading comments made by
Hall of Fame running back John Riggins, who called Snyder a "bad
guy" whose "heart is dark" in an interview for Showtime's
"Inside the NFL."
"That's totally, totally untrue," Blache said. "And the problem
is the fans don't get to know Mr. Snyder like we do, and so they
get an impression of things that are written and things people
say."
Blache said his family has been helped by Snyder, and that the
owner has supported Blache's involvement in hospice. Blache then
called Snyder "one of the most generous, kind individuals you
could ever meet."
Snyder has been a popular target for criticism from fans,
ex-players and pundits for the state of the Redskins, who are
2-5 and have won only two playoff games in his 10 years of
ownership. Snyder broke his own media silence earlier this week
to apologize to the fans on behalf of the organization.
"We've had criticism from other people outside the building
saying what Dan Snyder is and what he isn't ... they don't know
Dan Snyder," Blache said. "And that's the problem. Do I agree
with everything Dan Snyder does? No. Just trust me, because he
and I, we work together, and I'm not gonna tell you that this is
a utopia. But there's no utopias in football. There's no utopias
in life. But at the same time, enough's enough."
Blache, who stopped speaking to the media four weeks ago for
unspecified reasons, walked away after his statement and did not
take questions.
After practice, coach Jim Zorn supported Blache's position,
saying: "I would concur that Dan Snyder is a guy that absolutely
cares about other people."
"Some of the words that are said are just so harsh," Zorn said.
"All the time. It just seems like everybody's down, and part of
that is on me. We're losing, and that creates issues. And I
think that's more of the problem than anything, is losing, and I
want to help change that."
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