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Panthers Lucas accepts Smith's apology
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Published: August 4, 2008
Ken Lucas has accepted Steve Smith's apology.
Now, Lucas hopes that the Carolina Panthers can put Friday's incident between the two in the past and somehow turn a negative into a positive.
Lucas, a veteran cornerback, did not practice yesterday as the Panthers returned to training camp at Wofford College after an off-day Sunday. He has a broken nose that will require surgery and could shelve him for as long as three weeks.
But he was upbeat as he spoke to the media between the two-a-day sessions.
"I feel like what happened was a blessing in disguise," Lucas said. "This is something I think that has brought this team closer together. I may sound crazy for saying that, but I really think this is bigger than me and Steve. Me and Steve have talked, man to man, one on one, and we still have some more talking to do as far as the discrepancies of what we feel like the issues are between us. But we're going to handle that as men.
"As far as holding the team back, I don't feel like it will do so. I think it's only going to make us better and bring us closer as a team and work toward the ultimate goal of winning the trophy this year."
Smith received a two-game suspension for starting a fight with Lucas during a break in Friday's morning practice. At the time, Lucas was kneeling on the sideline with his helmet off.
Smith apologized to Lucas and his teammates when the Panthers regrouped Sunday night. Smith offered another apology in a brief statement to the media yesterday, saying, in part: "I'm not going to get into who's right, who's wrong. I'm completely wrong. It was an asinine decision."
Lucas said that accepting Smith's apology was the proper thing to do, and he talked about forgiveness in spiritual terms.
"For me to be a Christian, I have a forgiving heart and I'm willing to move forward to help this team win this year," Lucas said. "... Trials and tribulations only make you stronger as a man, for me and Steve. I'm sure he regrets his actions he took, but I would be less of a man if I don't forgive him. I go to Bible study just like he does every week. For me to not be able to forgive him, I'm just wasting my time going to Bible study."
Lucas declined to elaborate on what specifically prompted the incident. But the two have had differences on and off the field virtually from the time Lucas joined the team as a free agent four years ago. They often go up against each other in practice, and have had verbal battles — but never fisticuffs — before.
"There's a lot of things that have been brewing for four years now," Lucas said. "I can't possibly tell you what the issues are in this one conversation, what has happened in four years. The good thing is we were both man enough to come face to face and talk without having any other type of altercations like we've had in the past. We're bigger than that. Sometimes when emotions get involved, you do stupid things. That's what humans do."
Lucas said he still didn't know exactly how long he would be sidelined, but he said he felt certain that he would be ready to play in the regular-season opener at San Diego on Sept. 7.
"We're still waiting for the doctors to give us the timetable on when to get the procedure done," he said.
Lucas' teammates said they admired the way he was handling the situation.
"Luc's a stand-up guy," safety Chris Harris said. "There are a lot of guys in this league that could not have done the things that Luc has done. For him to show up at Fan Fest was huge for us. I commend him for everything he's done in this whole ordeal. We're all behind Luc 100 percent. And we're behind Steve, too. He's still one of us."
Lucas came to Bank of America Stadium on Saturday to see his teammates before Fan Fest, but he didn't make a public appearance. He had been sent back to Charlotte on Friday afternoon to see doctors.
The team stood in line to shake his hand and show their support Saturday morning.
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