Freeman shows leadership on Bucs' behavior issue

When we gathered at One Buc Place earlier this week after linebacker Geno Hayes was arrested, we heard Raheem Morris say some of his young football players need to grow up.

We heard Mark Dominik say some of the Buccaneers need to act like "a professional."

That anger was certainly justified. With all respect to the head coach and general manager, though, the best kind of rebuke for miscreant behavior comes from within the locker room. That moment has arrived.

If one player is arrested, well, stuff happens. When it's two players, eyebrows raise.

But when Hayes became the third Buc taken to jail in the past few months, it was time for the team leaders to, you know, lead .

That's exactly what 22-year-old Josh Freeman did when he stepped to the podium for his regular Wednesday media briefing. Without being asked about Hayes or any of the other off-the-field issues with the Bucs, Freeman took control of the story.

The question was about the team's mindset as it heads down the stretch of a playoff race.

Here was his answer:

"We're ready to go get it. We talk a lot about how we need to take care of business off the field as well. It doesn't speak well on the type of coach Raheem is," Freeman said.

"Raheem is a great coach. Everybody has the utmost respect for Raheem and the talk really has been we got to stop screwing this guy over by getting in trouble off the field."

Cornerback Ronde Barber emphasized the point as well during a private team meeting. It might have stayed private, too - these things usually do - but Freeman called his own audible and went off the script.

It's about time.

Maybe it was just coincidence Hayes later spoke Wednesday and apologized to his teammates and fans. But maybe it wasn't.

"I agree with him," Hayes said of Freeman.

Let's put this in perspective, shall we?

Players almost never publicly call out teammates. The code of the locker room says you don't mess with other players' business - especially when it's bad news, like it has been too many times this season.

When a team has a run like the Bucs have, though, circumstances change. Codes go out the window. With everything that's at sake, what Geno Hayes does away from One Buc is very much the business of Josh Freeman and everyone else dressed in pewter.

This team needs to police itself, so to speak.

"We've got to take it on ourselves to make smarter decisions," defensive end Stylez G. White said. "Better decisions will keep us out of newspapers."

Hayes was at a Tampa night spot around 2 a.m. Monday when he got into a confrontation with a club employee. Although he had many chances to walk away, Hayes kept yapping until a cop zapped him with a Taser and took him off to jail.

This time it was an employee, but sometimes a player may be confronted by someone just looking see what he's made of.

"You've got guys who kind of want to see for themselves. It's usually not that serious; I have more to lose than they do. I don't go looking for trouble, but you can tell when you're hanging out and people want to discuss football with you when you're trying to have a good time," White said.

"So you go, 'Hey, I don't want to do that,' and it comes off like, 'Oh, you don't want to talk to me?' That's when you just have to get away from it."

I know the Bucs are weary of talking about this. They are frustrated by the image of their locker room as a set for the latest "Cops" episode. There are plenty of guys in there - Barber, Freeman, Barrett Ruud, Earnest Graham - who manage to stay out of trouble.

The story line should be that the Bucs are in a playoff race after going 3-13 last season.

I mean, good grief, Freeman is the single and rich, young quarterback of a playoff contender. If anyone would be enjoying the high life, it might be him.

On the other hand, maybe he is in this position because he stays away from things that can lead to trouble. That's called leadership, and it is best done by example. It's what professionals do.