Lovie Smith, Greg Olsen avoided each other at basketball event

NFL players and coaches aren’t allowed to have any contact during the lockout, which created an awkward situation when Bears coach Lovie Smith and tight end Greg Olsen both agreed to serve as judges at the McDonald’s All-American Slam Dunk contest at Chicago State University.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Smith didn’t say a word to Olsen during the event and barely looked Olsen’s way the entire time.

Smith told the Tribune he could say hi to Olsen and nothing else.

“You want to talk, but you know what it is,” Smith said of the policy against coach-player contact during the lockout. “Greg knows what it is, and I know what it is. . . . We both understand the landscape of what’s going on right now. We just hope that, eventually, we’ll be able to do a lot more than just see each other.”

Smith said he would have liked to ask Olsen if he’s staying in shape, but he knows that’s not allowed. So he’s just going to hope that whenever the lockout ends and players are back in Chicago, they’re ready to go.

“I’m assuming right now, guys are doing what they normally do,” Smith said. “It’s not like we’re talking about of bunch of junior high and Pop Warner kids. These are professionals. They work out. Players just don’t work out because coaches tell them. They take this seriously, so I assume they all are working out, like they normally do.”

But when Smith sees those players out and about, it’s anything but normal.

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(profootballtalk.com)