Cleveland Browns GM Phil Savage apologizes for profanity in e-mail to fan

by Tony Grossi/Plain Dealer Reporter

Updated at 8:20 p.m.

First there was "text message-gate" in the Kellen Winslow affair. Now there's "e-mail-gate" swirling around the Browns.

On Thursday, Browns General Manager Phil Savage apologized to a fan for using a profane word in an e-mail response.

"True, it happened," Savage wrote in an e-mail to The Plain Dealer. "We have both apologized to each other since. The Browns' fans have overwhelmingly been positive towards me since 2005, and I appreciate that greatly."

The exchange came during the Browns' 29-27 win against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.

The fan, who appeared on WKNR AM/850 and was identified only as Brett, told host Tony Rizzo that he sent Savage an e-mail at 11:37 p.m. while the Browns were ahead in the game. He called Savage "the worst GM in the NFL" and questioned why the Browns don't use running back Jerome Harrison more, among other things.

Savage responded at 12:17 a.m., 23 minutes after the game ended. His e-mail reply: "Go root for Buffalo -- f---you."

Browns spokesman Bill Bonsiewicz said owner Randy Lerner considered the matter to be over.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has held team executives and employees accountable for violations of the league personal conduct policy. But league spokesman Greg Aiello indicated there is no need for action against Savage.

"They have apologized to each other and put the matter behind them," Aiello responded in an e-mail.

"I'm highly embarrassed by it," the Browns fan said to Rizzo.

The exchange was first reported on the Web site deadspin.com.

Savage was on a scouting trip in California on Thursday. Left unanswered is why he would take the time during and after a game to have an e-mail exchange with a fan.

Coach Romeo Crennel said, "We all get frustrated at times. Phil, generally, like the rest of us, tries to be professional and hold it in, but sometimes some things slip out. It's unfortunate that it slipped out.

"But [in] tough times, tough things happen. I'm sure if we had to do it over again, we'd do it a little bit differently. I talked to him this morning and said we just have to hang in there, keep fighting and try to get this thing turned."

This is the second incident in a month of digital communication causing a distraction in the Browns' season.

The Browns rescinded their one-game suspension of tight end Kellen Winslow when text messages sent by a Browns employee to Winslow and his publicist were used as evidence that the club urged him not to reveal a staph infection. Winslow's staph infection was not known at the time by the employee.

Savage, who communicates enthusiastically through e-mailing, was the recipient of voluminous support via e-mails when his job appeared to be lost in a power struggle with former club president John Collins in December 2005 -- less than one full year on the job.

Collins resigned after Lerner sided with Savage.


If you're wondering. The email said "Fuck you! Go root for Buffalo!"