Every year NFL rookies are required to go to a series of symposiums designed to help them with various life skills, like how to handle money, how to comport yourself, and how to deal with women in a respectful manner. Obviously the symposiums are working well because every year half the players in the NFL seem to be in and out of prison and the other half are broke. And don't even get me started about the domestic abuse problems.

Plus these are probably the first classes for these guys in years, since they never went to any in college.

So naturally, this next sentence shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Pro Football Talk is reporting that Aqib Talib, the Bucs' 1st-round pick, and Corey Boyd, the Bucs 7th-round pick, got into a full scale beatdown at the rookie "budgets and finance" meeting. The two had been jawing at each other all day, which I'm sure the lecturers loved, and it ultimately boiled over right in the middle of the session. Apparently Boyd wanted a higher tax rate for the wealthy while Talib was vouching for a flat tax. And of course fights are always how these disagreements are solved. Trust me, I know. I worked on Capitol Hill. Ted Kennedy has a right cross that you wouldn't believe.

Obviously this is a bit of a black eye for the NFL, having two rookie teammates brawling during a what is essentially a life skills session.

Also, as MJD at Shutdown Corner points out, even Pacman Jones and Chris Henry managed to get through the rookie symposiums with starting fights.

But hey, they seem like good guys. Talib’s draft stock fell due to repeated positive drug test results while at Kansas. Meanwhile, Boyd was suspended in 2005 and then said "I'm back, back like cooked crack" on TV after scoring a touchdown in 2006.



Should be action packed careers for Talib and Boyd. I'm sure Jon Gruden is thrilled.

The Budgets and Finance meeting is a good place to fight [Shutdown Corner]
Symposium sluggers identified [Pro Football Talk]