By Paul Gardner
Naughty, naughty Freddy Adu … the wonderboy finally opened his mouth and said something that sounded like a real teenager … and promptly got sat upon by coach Peter Nowak and the impressive, somber might of DC United … Adu publicly stated his belief that he wasn't getting enough playing time … this statement of Freddy's, which I happen to agree with, was apparently of such dastardly traitorous significance that, when he didn't apologize for making it, the smiling 16-year-old was hit with a charge of ''conduct detrimental to the team'' and suspended for one game … Nowak and the rest of the tight-lipped folks at DC United have apparently not noticed that complaining about lack of playing time is not exactly uncommon in today's game … in fact, given the way that rich clubs now stack their rosters, it is likely to get more frequent … and it rarely results in a suspension for the unhappy player doing the complaining … it is a fact of life for every club today that it will have players who want one, or all, of three things: more money, more playing time, or a move to another club … clubs are supposed to know how to handle those things without dramatics … in the Adu incident, he has inevitably been accused, and excused, because of his tender age, the implication being that he doesn't know any better, that he is immature … yes, there is a good deal of childishness hovering over this matter, but most of it is coming from DC United … is DC United, is Peter Nowak, so insecure that their only response to a young player's legitimate beef is to attempt to gag him?