Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates downplay shouting match
By Phil Naegely
San Diego Chargers‘ Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates are moving on from their sideline spat that occurred on Sunday.
Emotions get the best of people know matter who they are. On Sunday, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates got into a little incident on the San Diego sideline. While media and fans are making a big deal about it, both Chargers players are moving on and focusing on what’s more important.
The Chargers only have two wins on the season, so it makes sense for both players to be frustrated. Likewise, when things aren’t going right, people have short fuses and professional athletes are no different. They both lost their cool and had to get out their emotions in a way that wasn’t the most appropriate, but there was no harm either. Neither threw punches or injured each other.
Rivers and Gates should channel their emotions into helping the team do better this week. Both are high-profile athletes that are mature and know how to move on from incidents like Sunday’s. Now is the time to prove it as the Chargers prepare to face the Jacksonville Jaguars who are on the verge of winning their division.
Both players need to step it up on Sunday and play to their full potential. The Chargers gave Rivers a big contract this year, but so far he is not showing he earned the big pay day. However, that can change if he can turn around his poor performance against the Kansas City Chiefs and lead the Chargers to victory on Sunday.
It’s clear Rivers and Gates lost their temper and let their frustrations poor out on Sunday. Yet, they are being better men by saying it’s not a big deal and moving on from the event. In the long run it will help the team through the remainder of their 2015 NFL season.