Comments by 'Dr. Ebron' seem to irritate Lions' Caldwell

Allen Park — Lions coach Jim Caldwell said last week he doesn't censor his players, but his comments Thursday indicated he was upset with some comments made by Eric Ebron.

The second-year tight end told an ESPN reporter Wednesday that part of his knee injury is related to bruising and that it could take up to three weeks for him to recover. During Caldwell's weekly radio interview on 97.1 FM, he called Ebron "Dr. Ebron," referring to the diagnosis he provided to ESPN.

Caldwell said the comment was "tongue in cheek," but like many jokes, there was some truth to his comments, as the Lions have a policy not to discuss injuries.

"We don't provide that information," Caldwell said when asked why he poked fun at Ebron.

Then, Caldwell declined to say whether or not the team would punish Ebron for his comments.

"That's internal, and that's really not anything we'd let out or (we'd) publicize," he said.

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Ebron was not available for comment when the Lions' locker room was open to the media Thursday.

Last Thursday, two days after wide receiver Golden Tate made remarks on 105.1 FM about the predictability of the Lions offense, Caldwell explained that he had no issue with the comments his players make.

"One of the things you have to understand is that we don't try to keep our players from saying anything," Caldwell said last week. "I don't censor guys; that's ridiculous. I think they get interviewed because you want to know what they think and feel. We try to give them some guidance, obviously, but other than that, hey, you've got to let them be who they are."

Besides speaking after the game Monday night, Tate has not been available for interviews in the Lions' locker room since he made those comments on the radio.

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