After the Indianapolis Colts selected Anthony Richardson, Chris Ballard took some time to call out the people who leak bad narratives about draft prospects.
Thursday night was a great time for the Indianapolis Colts. Indy drafted Anthony Richardson, bringing an excitement to the city, and hopefully, quality and consistent play to the quarterback position. However, in the midst of the celebration, Colts general manager, Chris Ballard, took some time to criticize a part of the pre-draft process that really bothers him.
While discussing the selection of Richardson, Ballard went off on a tangent and started to rant about people leaking negative stories about draft prospects. Visibly frustrated, Ballard tried to stop himself from using expletives, but the passion took over as he explained, “all the crap that comes out about these kids, it’s crap. It’s bulls***… People that leak these stories, these negative stories on kids, I just don’t agree with it. It’s bulls***.”
He further highlighted how these young players work extremely hard their entire lives, then have to answer for these nasty narratives that come out ahead of the biggest moment of their life. Ballard also made clear that his rant wasn’t about Anthony Richardson but about other prospects that are good kids that “had to take a little bit of a beating that they shouldn’t have had to take.”
#Colts GM Chris Ballard called out people who leak negative stories about prospects before the draft.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 28, 2023
Would guess he's talking about what CJ Stroud had to go through.
(via @Colts/YouTube)pic.twitter.com/bQhtMTmAK1
Colts GM Chris Ballard criticizes the attack of draft prospects
Ballard makes a fair point. Teams do have the responsibility to learn everything they can about the prospects that they are about to invest in, but that doesn’t mean these narratives should be broadcasted, and in some cases created, out in the open for these young athletes to be torn down.
No. 2 overall pick, CJ Stroud, was a prospect that had to deal with that throughout the pre-draft process. Although he didn’t end up with the Colts, Stroud revealed that Ballard continually checked up on him throughout the pre-draft process. That’s probably because Ballard wasn’t a fan of how Stroud was being attacked in the media. Fortunately for Stroud, the Houston Texans made him the second player off the board and now he will play Anthony Richardson and the Colts twice a year.
Maybe Ballard’s words will encourage everyone to reconsider the way we talk about not only these young athletes who are trying to change their families’ lives, but all athletes in general.
READ MORE: 5 cornerback prospects Colts can draft