Dec 7, 2010 - The Washington Redskins have suspended defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth for the final four games of the season, according to a team issued press release. GM Bruce Allen informed Haynesworth of their decision to suspend him on Tuesday morning. The official reason is conduct detrimental to the team, which carries a max suspension of four games.
Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan said ultimately Haynesworth refused to "abide by the terms of his contract":
"Despite the club’s numerous attempts to persuade Albert Haynesworth to abide by the terms of his contract, he has repeatedly refused to cooperate with our coaching staff in a variety of ways over an extended period of time. Among other things, he has consistently indicated to our defensive coaches that he refuses to play in our base defense or on first-down or second-down nickel situations. He has also refused to follow the instructions of our coaches both during weekly practices and during actual games as well.
"Yesterday, when Albert was at Redskin Park, he told our General Manager Bruce Allen that he [Haynesworth] would no longer speak with me. Although suspending any player is not a decision that a head coach enters into lightly, I believe the situation has reached the point where the club clearly has no alternative."
While some teams handle this internally, Shanahan lays it all out there for us in a press release.The latest dust-up between Hayneworth and Shanahan came when the Redskins coach put the defensive tackle on the inactive last on Sunday. Reports surfaced that Haynesworth looked "hung over" at practice earlier in the week, which Haynesworth vehemently denied in a wide-ranging interview this week.
This press release, nor the suspension, will do anything to fix the relationship between Haynesworth, Shanahan and the Redskins. It's hard to imagine Haynesworth playing in DC again but, then again, we said the same thing last offseason.