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'I am totally at peace' Tice doesn't take blame for Stringer's heatstroke
Updated: Friday August 03, 2001 3:08 AM
By Don Banks, Sports Illustrated MANKATO, Minn. -- When he left the practice field headed for the locker room Thursday morning at Vikings training camp, Mike Tice walked briskly and felt on the defensive. Tice, the Vikings' assistant head coach/offensive line coach, had just met the media for the first time since his starting right tackle, Korey Stringer, died early Wednesday morning from complications from heat stroke. After sharing his memories of Stringer and reacting emotionally to his death, Tice started fielding questions about his role in and perspective of Stringer's fateful final practice, on Tuesday. Tice explained his reasoning in allowing Stringer to continue practice despite his Monday heat-related problems, explained it a second time, then eventually cut off the interview when he felt the questions were stopping just short of accusing him of misjudgment. "It seems like some [reporters] are trying to blame me for what happened," Tice said. "I'm not going to just stand there and answer the same question over and over. There's no one who should have to take the blame for this." In the aftermath of Stringer's shocking death, the questions of accountability are just now starting to be asked. Vikings head coach Dennis Green has refused to entertain any medical questions about Stringer's death, or reflect on the team's decision-making in regards to Stringer's practicing on Tuesday. Head trainer Chuck Barta also has said very little, other than he and his staff stand behind the steps that were taken in regards to Stringer's care. Which on Thursday left Tice to handle tricky questions that dealt with life and death, and right and wrong. "I don't know what else to say," Tice said. "It's very unfortunate that he worked himself to death." Tice was extremely close to Stringer and has been asked by his widow to speak at the family and team-only private memorial service Friday afternoon. What he hopes to do there is shed a little light on the life that Stringer lived. But what Tice attempted Thursday was to shed a little light on the circumstances that led to Stringer's death. It was a role that few others in the Vikings organization seem willing or ready to take on. "I am totally at peace with the fact that I wouldn't change a thing, not one thing, if I had it to do over again," Tice said of Tuesday's workout. "I went through every minute of that practice 20 times to make sure there was nothing I could have done differently. I am at peace that I did the right things." Tice challenges the contention that Stringer vomited three times during Tuesday's practice, a key point that has left the Vikings vulnerable to charges that they let a player practice who was in the early stages of a heat-related illness. "I don't think it was an accurate report," he said. "I talked to my players this morning and asked them if anyone saw Korey throw up three times. And my guys, who were around him the whole practice, said they didn't see him throw up at all. They said he took some water toward the end of practice and spit it out. But I haven't found anyone who said they saw him throw up three times." Tice also contends that he didn't pull Stringer out of practice Tuesday, as he did Monday afternoon, because he saw no reason for alarm. "I didn't say [take a break] because he didn't look like he needed one," Tice said. "I have a good gauge on my players and I know when they need to go out and when they need water. We don't deal in punishment here. We don't run guys too much. "Actually, looking at the film he looked fantastic. He had a great practice. So I didn't feel like I needed to say anything. I didn't think he was struggling." The second-guessing that surrounds Stringer's death may extend indefinitely. At some point, there may even be a legal fight over whether he belonged on the field. But more than anything, the issue Stringer raises is the wisdom of a football-first mentality. The mindset that led him to continue playing when his body was screaming for relief. As much as coaches and trainers can do and see, the ultimate responsibility for Stringer's well-being rested with Stringer. No one but him knew exactly where his breaking point was, and why he chose to press on past it. "Professional athletes have that warrior mentality of not letting anyone know you're scared, not letting anyone know you're hurt, not letting anyone know you're tired," Tice said. "That mentality is ingrained in us since we were children playing football. And in the NFL, that mentality is right on the cutting edge. "I know this: He was extremely embarrassed by a photo that was put in the paper of him not making it through practice on Monday. So on Tuesday, he was out to make a point to the team, himself and to me, that you can count on him. He was out to prove that he was a tough guy." According to at least one Vikings source, Stringer was so adamant that he would make it through Tuesday's practice and redeem himself that he was knocking over chairs in the locker room that morning, saying he would never again be in the position of sitting out a workout. But in this case, his gung-ho approach had to work against him. "A trainer or coach can't be in the mind of the player," said Paul Wiggin, the Vikings' coordinator of pro scouting and a stellar defensive end for 11 years as a Cleveland Brown [1957-67]. "They can't tell when he's trying to tough it out in order to not let his teammates down or impress them. There's no way we can know what went on in Korey's mind on Tuesday. "But anybody who has ever put on a football uniform can at least understand what went through Korey's mind. I understand it. It's extreme macho. How much more macho can it be than football? I can recall times where the cause was more important than anything else. Sometimes you don't even think rationally in those situations."
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