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GIANGRECO'S `GANDHI' REMARK RILES PAYTONS
Fred Mitchell
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
It was just a flip comment, but it still upset Walter and Connie Payton when WLS-TV sports anchor Mark Giangreco referred last week to the gaunt appearance of the Bears Hall of Fame running back.
"He referred to him as Gandhi. And then, earlier in the day, I think he said (Walter) looked shriveled up or something like that. I think he owes him an apology," Connie Payton said Tuesday.
"That hurt, it really did," said Walter, who revealed his life-threatening liver condition at a Tuesday news conference. "I realize how serious it is and I realize there are a lot of other people that it might be serious to. To poke fun at it without even knowing what the problems are . . . it's very difficult. Very disheartening."
Giangreco delivered an on-air clarification and apology during his sports segment on the 5 p.m. news Tuesday. Giangreco said later he was "devastated" to learn the real cause of Payton's dramatic weight loss.
Last week, during a news conference to announce that his son, Jarrett, would attend the University of Miami to play football, Payton--a renowned jokester--told Ch. 7's Brad Palmer that he was "training for the marathon" to account for his appearance, and Palmer passed on that comment to Giangreco.
"I would never take an opportunity like that to say something malicious," said Giangreco, known for wisecracking. "This is one of those life lessons. Maybe in the future I will pause before I say something. I hope to have a personal conversation with Walter about this."
Payton declined to speak to him on the telephone Tuesday.
Family support: Connie Payton was in a hurry Tuesday.
She was trying to get away to watch 14-year-old daughter Brittney play in a volleyball game in Buffalo Grove.
Minutes earlier her eyes had welled with tears as her husband spoke.
"I have a lot of faith and I believe in my heart that it will be fine. I don't doubt that for even one minute," she said. "I think my tears today came just from seeing him cry. I haven't seen that side of him. I think that was healthy and it was good. I don't want anybody to be sorry or anybody to be sad. It's going to be OK and we welcome all of the prayers, because I do believe in that."
Reacting to the symptoms: Like many, Walter needed a little prompting to visit the doctor when his symptoms first arose last July.
"When we started noticing the weight loss, I knew something was wrong," his wife said. "Then the jaundice really got to be something. I had to kind of step back to make it seem like it was his idea (to go to a doctor)."
True Sweetness: Even in the face of dire circumstances, Payton retained his sense of humor while obliging Chicago television reporters with one-on-one interviews after the news conference.
"I am losing all the weight and (former Bears teammate) Roland (Harper) is gaining all the weight," Payton told Ch. 5's Mike Adamle, another ex-Bears teammate.
"Why are you wearing a dark suit today?" Payton asked Ch. 2's Tim Weigel before their interview. "Don't start no mess with me."
Weigel countered: "I didn't want to show up in a red sports coat today. I had to tone it down."
When Ch. 32's Dan Jiggetts, still another former teammate, sought to interview both of the Paytons, Walter chided: "You aren't going to get me to cry again on TV."
A real card: A giant 4-foot by 6-foot get-well card to Payton will be set up in the entrance of Harry Caray's Restaurant Wednesday for patrons to sign. The card is in the Bears' colors of orange and blue and reads: "Get Well Soon, Walter--Dutchie, Chip, Your Friends At Harry's And All of Your Fans."
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Joe Orr Road Rod wrote:
The victims are the American People and the Republic itself.