NFL draft hopeful and former Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Eli Apple got a strong first-hand taste of what the NFL's rookie scouting combine is all about. Coaches from every NFL organization arrive in Indianapolis with a mandate to get to know prospects their team may potentially draft on an intimate level, to poke and prod them, literally and figuratively, to find out just what makes them tick.
Apple, unfortunately, was posed a question regarding his sexual orientation by an Atlanta Falcons assistant coach that crossed any number of lines and left a sour taste in a lot of mouths. On Monday, the Falcons coach in question, Marquand Manuel, issued an apology.
"I take full responsibility for the inappropriate question I asked at the combine," Manuel said in a statement. "It was wrong and I apologize to Eli Apple, [Falcons owner] Mr. [Arthur] Blank, the entire Falcons organization, my family, and our Falcon fans for my insensitivity. I understand it was inappropriate and the offense people have taken to it. I have had an individual counseling session on social responsibility today, and was part of a staff session as well, and found it very valuable in learning from this situation. Moving forward, I will become a better man by going through all of this."
Manuel, a former NFL defensive back who spent eight years with six different teams before joining the coaching ranks, may have undergone counseling, but he's not the first member of Dan Quinn's staff to engage in questionable behavior this offseason. Already, defensive line coach Bryan Cox was reprimanded for shoving a Cardinals scout. And there was talk in the wake of Manuel's poorly chosen words that his query to Apple may not have been the only instance of improper questioning by Falcons coaches at the combine.
Quinn though, believes that he and the rest of his staff will learn from this experience.
"I have spoken to every coach on our staff individually and collectively today in regards to what happened at the combine," Quinn said in a statement. "The inappropriate conversation occurred between one of our position coaches and the player; it was not during one of our formal 15-minute interviews. Following my discussions with the coaches, we have taken additional steps to ensure our entire staff is well educated on the appropriate questions and comments that should be made during these processes. We had a training seminar with a league-approved counselor here at our facility today with our entire coaching staff regarding social responsibility. Our organization holds itself to a very high standard and we will learn from this."
The NFL already has plans to look into the incident, whatever that means for Manuel or Quinn, but it's unlikely to result in anything beyond further sensitivity training.
With Quinn's group having struggled through the latter portion of 2015 and now already dealing with disgruntled former players like Roddy White calling out offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, the franchise may have a tough time getting a good start on 2016.
