SOMETIMES, the truth hurts. Often, though, it can bring clarity.
In the case of the Jets, with recent curious and clandestine goings on involving linebacker Jonathan Vilma as the perfect example, truth and clarity don’t qualify as goals of the team.
Shortly after college, I had a friend who once proudly offered this theory as his way to keep the several different women he was dating off balance and out of the know: “Never tell a girl the actual truth.”
This is exactly how these Jets deal with the world outside their inner sanctum.
Take the timeline of this peculiar Vilma saga, for example.
* A week ago Sunday in the game at Cincinnati, Vilma was removed from the defense several times during the second half, something that rarely occurs.
* Monday, when Eric Mangini was asked why Vilma had been taken off the field, he revealed his defensive captain had an injury that “dramatically affected” his performance and that was why he was taken out.
* Tuesday, the day after Mangini uncharacteristically volunteered that Vilma had an injury, Vilma, on his weekly paid radio spot, made it sound as if he was ticked off at being benched in the second half and denied that an injury had anything to do with it.
* The following day, asked about Vilma’s curious reactions on the radio, Mangini passed it off as Vilma merely being the proud and tough player he is. Mangini revealed that the injury was to a knee (he refused to say which one) and said he was going to have more tests.
* In Thursday’s editions, The Post reported that Vilma’s injury was serious, that he was mulling surgery and likely was out for the season.
* Thursday and Friday, Mangini would not acknowledge that the report of Vilma’s season being over was correct.
* By Saturday, Vilma had been placed on injured reserve, ending his season.
Yesterday, speaking to reporters via a short conference call, Vilma was heard from for the first time since this unfortunate dance began, and he brought virtually no light to his situation.
He said he “honestly” doesn’t know when or how he got hurt. He said he was, indeed, upset about being taken out of the Bengals game despite the fact his head coach deemed him hurt enough that it was affecting his play.
And, in the most absurd moment of the conference call, Vilma refused to acknowledge which knee is hurt.
Asked why, when there’s no competitive advantage or disadvantage to be had by anyone since he’s done for the season, he would not say which knee is hurt, Vilma said, “You have to take that up with Mangini.”
Herein lies the problem: The Jets’ strict no-information policy, which makes NASA look like an open Internet chat room, creates and manifests these cloudy, public relations blunders that paint a picture of an organization not on the same page.
The one piece of news Vilma did reveal yesterday is the fact he is mulling whether to have surgery on whichever knee might be injured.
Asked about his comments on the radio last week that contradicted what Mangini said the previous day, Vilma said, “When I was on the radio I hadn’t received the MRI results yet, and [the injury] was something I thought I could play with. I’ve never missed a game before. Of course I was annoyed I was taken out. Unless I have to be carried off the field, I don’t want to be taken out.”
Asked if he was in agreement with Jets management putting him on IR, Vilma said, “Being put on IR is the best decision for myself and the best decision for the team. We’re all in agreement.”
Based on the blatant avoidance of the actual truth to come out about this issue in the past 10 days, if you believe all of that, then you believe there’s still some bargain real estate for sale in Manhattan.