Denver lives and dies by the Broncos. Thus it has ever been and probably always will be. Because of the collective sports fever, ending a season that started out with a bang of 6-0 and ended up a whimper of 8-8 sent the city into a collective funk. But in the midst of all that a very public squabble arose between the young Turk coach Josh McDaniels and two of his star players: wide receiver Brandon Marshall and tight end Tony Scheffler. McDaniels announced two days before the season finale that he was benching these two players. In addition, just before that he had publicly questioned Marshall’s ankle injury. Not nice to imply that one of your players is a wimp!

Of course, in the beginning of the season he had quarreled with quarterback Jay Cutler for similarly refusing to be a team player. Both camps played out the tiff in the newspapers and on T.V. Ironically, McDaniels mentor, New England coach Bill Belichick, never says anything significant publicly. Never. Undoubtedly, with regard to taking those two out of the game, Belichick would have simply done it, responding to questions afterward by saying it was the best thing for the team and refusing to answer any other questions. McDaniels alleged personal criticism of players inside the Broncos’ meeting rooms and team plane this season ruffled other feathers.

Clearly, McDaniels has been trying to lay down the law with his “my way or the highway” philosophy since the start of the season and there’s nothing wrong with that kind of authoritative management in sports or anywhere else. Managers have a legal, ethical and management right to manage. What I do quibble with is whether it needs to be done in public, and whether such moves are effective. Even if you’re a tough and seasoned NFL pro, public criticism hurts. Especially if it comes from someone like a coach who is suppose to be helping you. As I wrote in We Need to Talk; Tough Conversations with Your Employee, it’s an old management saw that you praise in public and criticize in private. There’s a good reason for this rule. It works.

If you’re a manager, think long and hard before you call someone out of the carpet before their fellow workers. If you’re an employee, you have a right to be treated with respect. As I wrote in We Need to Talk; Tough Conversations with Your Boss, let your boss know that you respect his or her feedback, in fact you welcome feedback, but you want it done in private in a normal tone of voice.

Even if you’re Denver’s “bad boy” Brandon Marshall.