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Date Posted: 12:16:43 10/25/02 Fri
Author: Kathy
Subject: Player Reaction...
In reply to: Kathy 's message, "Please read..." on 21:51:25 10/23/02 Wed

Down-to-earth Lerner was a hit with players

10/25/02

Tony Grossi
Cleveland Plain Dealer Reporter


Al Lerner's idea of a first-class football organization included player amenities such as gourmet meals year-round, valet parking service on game days, private parties for families and the very best facilities that money could buy.

But Lerner's profound impact on his players extended beyond the perks he lavished on them and their families.

"He didn't just want to have that label as the owner. He got excited when he came around," said cornerback Daylon McCutcheon. "He was always there to shake our hands and congratulate us. He wanted to be a part of that celebration and just kind of feed off us. We were excited when he came down. He wanted to be there for us."

On the day after he died, players spoke emotionally about Lerner's passion and compassion, his generosity and his sincerity to build a winning team. Some called the billionaire businessman "a down-to-earth person."

Cornerback Corey Fuller said he bonded with Lerner in 1999 when Lerner invited him to fly in his private jet and speak to executives of Lerner's MBNA Corp. on a company retreat in Maine.

Fuller was born in the low-income housing projects of Tallahassee, Fla. His younger brother was shot dead at an early age. And here was a billionaire businessman treating him like royalty.

What Fuller didn't know at the time was that Lerner, born of Russian immigrants, built a financial empire from nothing.

"He closed that gap for one reason, because he wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth," Fuller said. "They had 650 top executives there, and their families. He said to speak to these people about teamwork, but most of all tell them where you come from.

"How can I talk to the top executives of MBNA about teamwork when they make billions of dollars? I did exactly what they asked me to do. I told my story and where I come from and what it takes to be a team. Ever since that day I spoke, we basically fell in love with each other. I really found out how much he cared about me, and how much he truly loved me."

Fuller found out again, he said, when he was arrested for a traffic violation while leaving a preseason game in 2001.

"When I got in that trouble, I was at my locker for a preseason game and Mr. Lerner came up to me," Fuller recalled. "I was sitting in my chair and Mr. Lerner is 60-some years old, and I'm a kid from nothing, and he gets down on both his knees and says to me, 'Don't worry about it. It's going to be all right. You're my family and you're my family for life.' That's what I'm talking about.

"He was a billionaire. I'm a poor little kid from the projects who didn't expect to be here. He's on both his knees. I've got to help him get up. I went home and told my mother that story and just like I got a tear in my eye now, I had a tear in my eye that night. And that's why we feel the way we do."

Lerner went out of his way to treat his players like family, they said.

"I got to know Mr. Al Lerner, the person, not Mr. Al Lerner, the businessman," said linebacker Jamir Miller. "The person is a great person. He really cares, and that's rare. He cares about what's going on in this community, cares about what's going on in this team, cares about what's going on in his family. He was a very family-oriented person.

"If that's one thing I took from him, it was to control your house and make sure that your house is OK before you do anything else. I never said it to him, but I know it's the way he did things, the way he kept his family together and didn't allow them to separate. No matter what he was doing, no matter what other things were on his plate, he made sure that his family was together. I have a great admiration for him."

Lerner frequently addressed his players to tell them his vision for the team.

Long snapper Ryan Kuehl, the longest-tenured Brown, remembered Lerner's first speech to a "bunch of ragtag guys thrown together" before the franchise's first draft in April of 1999.

"He laid out what he wanted very directly, what he wanted this organization to stand for and to be - a first-class place where players would enjoy playing, being involved with community, which obviously goes hand-in-hand with his personality and what he did for this community, and eventually bring a championship," Kuehl said.

Lerner last met with his players on Sept. 7, the eve of the first game this season. They said he never made a reference to his failing health.

"I've been here a short time, but just listening to him you could tell his love and passion for the team, the city, and the Cleveland Browns," said safety Devin Bush. "He was real sick, but he still came out and talked to us.

"He was going through an ordeal, but didn't say a word about it. He put everything aside and came to talk to us, telling us how he's proud of the team, what direction he thought we were going in. He thanked us for playing football for his family. Then you find out what he's going through and he's thanking us? I mean, he's playing for his life."

Quarterback Tim Couch said that Lerner never failed to impress on them his burning desire to win.

"We're still striving to get where he wanted us to be and when we get there it will be a credit to him," Couch said. "I think guys on this team know Mr. Lerner would want this team to go on and win games and play hard. Even on his sickest days when he talked to the team, he didn't talk about himself. He talked about how badly he wanted to win. I think guys will remember that."

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