Crennel chastises Winslow

Browns coach Romeo Crennel confirmed Monday that Kellen Winslow suffered a staph infection and also chastised him for going to the media with his complaints about Browns General Manager Phil Savage.

"If he has an issue, he should address it with the organization and not to the media," said Crennel. "I don't know how much you gain by that. He should come to the organization first and try to reach some kind of agreement. Then, if he's not satisfied, he can go elsewhere."

Crennel, who spoke to Winslow on the plane ride home from the game, indicated that he could fine or suspend him for conduct detrimental to the team.

"We'll investigate it, and then we'll determine if anything needs to be done," said Crennel. "My policy is to keep family business in the family. Whatever I do, I'm not going to broadcast it. It's the organization's call. I will consult with everybody."

Winslow revealed to The Plain Dealer on Sunday night that his previously undisclosed illness was a staph infection and that he was upset that he didn't hear from Savage during his three-day stay in the Cleveland Clinic last week. He also was miffed the Browns said it was Winslow who wanted to keep it private when, according to Winslow, the team wanted to hide the fact it was staph.

Savage said in an e-mail response that he probably will comment today.

In an interview with espn.com early Monday, Winslow said, "Nobody knew that I had staph on the team because the Browns didn't want it to get out. But it's my teammates' right to know what's going on at the facility to protect them. Their safety is at risk, too."

Winslow's second bout with the infection over the past two weeks was the sixth known staph infection by a Browns player since 2005 and seventh since 2004. Still, Crennel said Winslow going public was a distraction for the 2-4 team.

"Not only is it a distraction for the organization, but it's a distraction for Kellen, and it'll be a distraction for the players in the locker room because they'll get asked a lot of questions," said Crennel. "All of those things are taking away from football and their focus and concentration on the next game."

Crennel said the fact it came after a loss -- 14-11 to the Redskins -- made it a little more difficult to take, but win or lose, "if you've got an issue, let's come and put it on the table."

Winslow, who's also upset that the Browns aren't acting on his request for a new contract, said he told Savage how he felt before talking to the media in what was described by observers as a heated discussion outside the locker room. Crennel surmised that Winslow's unproductive game, coupled with the confrontation, caused him to vent. He caught two of the seven passes thrown his way, and he and Derek Anderson were way off on most of the others.

"Kellen is a very emotional player," said Crennel. "He's competitive and wants to win. He was coming off an injury situation and didn't probably play as much as he wanted to. Sometimes the emotions of the game and your personal situation overflow."

Asked if Winslow and the Browns can co-exist after the outburst, Crennel said: "Sure, yes. Kellen has a good relationship with the organization and likes the players on this team. I think he'll play for the Cleveland Browns."

Crennel said he represented the Browns when he called Winslow at the Clinic. "We value all our players, and when they're injured, we check to find out how they're doing, give them encouragement and tell them we want them to get better as soon as they can. . . . They're my guys. I'm with them every day. That's part of showing them that you care."

Crennel also said the Browns are doing everything they can to keep staph in check, including sanitizing the building regularly, having it coated with an anti-bacterial agent, and educating the players about prevention.

"We're doing everything we can to try to keep our players safe," said Crennel. "No [player] has come to me and said we aren't doing enough. If we knew [where they were picking it up], we could pinpoint it and address it. Some of them have been pre-op, some have been post-op, some of them have been after the guy's left the hospital and gone home. There are a lot of different circumstances."

Tight end Darnell Dinkins, the players' union rep, said he's certain the team is taking every precaution.

"Anybody who has staph, you're talking about your life," said Dinkins. "It's bigger than football. It's bigger than a game. Kellen's a good friend of mine. Anyone who has a condition or issue like that, you want to make sure he's protected and he's healthy."

Linebacker Andra Davis supported Winslow but said: "This is something we definitely don't need right now because we're 2-4. We need to focus on winning games. All this other stuff will take care of itself. If we don't focus on the Jaguars, they're going to beat our heads in. They don't care what we're going through."

(blog.cleveland.com)