The 2016 season didn’t go like anyone with the Colts had hoped. The team struggled to an incredibly inconsistent season in which they went 8-8, finished third in the worst division in football, and missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

There’s a really long list of problems that we can talk about with this team (mainly on the defensive side of the football), but running back Frank Gore wouldn’t be even close to the top. In his two years with the Colts, he’s given the team everything they thought they were getting: a good running back who’s past his prime but who will always give his best, always play tough, bring a desire to win above all else, and still produce. This year, he rushed for 1,025 yards and four touchdowns (averaging 3.9 yards per carry) and caught 38 passes for 277 yards and four scores. For a 33-year old starting running back to total 1,302 yards and eight touchdowns from scrimmage this year is everything you could expect.

There are very few Colts who owe fans an apology less than Gore, who’s as motivated to win as anybody. But that’s exactly what he did, via a video posted by the Colts on Facebook: he apologized to fans for the way the Colts played this year.

“I want to apologize to our fans,” Gore said. “I know what they’re used to here, this organization is one of football, playoff, Super Bowl football. I want to say sorry we didn’t get it done. Hopefully we get things right, some key players will come back, hopefully they come back, hopefully next year we just got to grind and get back to what this organization’s used to, getting to the playoffs, winning the division, and try to go get that trophy. And I just want to say, apologize to all the fans, all the fans who root for the ‘shoe.”

It’s a classy move by the veteran, and at a time when the owner and general manager have gone completely silent about the future of this team, it’s nice to see Gore setting the example for them in expressing to the fan that the Colts know going 8-8 and missing the playoffs is unacceptable. No excuses, no ‘almost 10-3s,’ no sugar-coating things - just saying that they didn’t get it done and apologizing for it. That’s a message that should sit well with Colts fans, and it’s one that some of the team’s leaders could learn from. It’s a classy move from a classy player.