Geno Smith Isn't a True Leader, True Leaders Don't Exist

Because Geno Smith plays quarterback in the “The National Football League,” this incident became a character assessment. We didn’t see the altercation. We don’t have all the facts. That did not stop a collective debate about whether Geno Smith is a “true leader.”

The short answer: he isn’t one. “True leaders” don’t exist. Leadership is a vague, catch-all term for human behavior we don’t quite understand. It is an ex post facto explanation, not a predictive one. We see success and attribute it to “leadership.” We don’t see “leadership” and predict success from it. It’s a writing trope.

Is Tom Brady a “true leader?” Well, he’s good at playing quarterback. He has won four Super Bowls. By most accounts he has a strong work ethic. Guys like playing with him. Teammates give affirmative answers to questions about his “leadership,” however vague. But, “true leader” came after he won Super Bowls. It wasn’t in his scouting report.

The “true leader” concept stems from the British notion of Muscular Christianity. They sought the leaders of Empire on the rugby pitch and sent them forth to bring civilization to the world. Some “true leaders” on the spot were competent. Some left intractable messes – Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, Multiple Places in Africa – the world is still dealing with. Not clear they did a better job than the quiet, reserved, bookish types would have.

History’s “true leaders” have done some dumb things. George S. Patton slapped troops with PTSD and got himself sidelined from the Normandy Invasion. Winston Churchill squandered his political capital for rearmament in 1936 defending Edward VIII during his abdication crisis.

Football’s “true leaders” have done some dumb things. Peyton Manning allegedly sat on a female trainer’s face. Brian Griese, before he was “national champion quarterback” was “quarterback facing a felony charge for smashing a bar window.” Jim Harbaugh has been arrested multiple times and broke his hand throwing a punch, at a retired quarterback.

Some people are capable of great things. Everyone, from time to time, effs up. (Yes,  sports columnists too.) We don’t even have a firm enough grip on the facts to ascertain that Geno Smith did that here. Our perception stems not from his dearth of ill-defined leadership qualities, but his subpar quarterback play.

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