Browns Safety T.J. Ward hit with fine
The NFL has struck Cleveland Browns’ safety T.J Ward with a fine for a hit he landed on Jordan Shipley.
Ward was quick to make a reputation for himself as a blunt talker and a hard hitter. The safety has only played four games as a professional footballer and already he has had his first run in with the league. Ward was fined $15,000 for a hitting Cincinnati
Bengal’s wide receiver Shipley on the helmet during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. The Browns beat the Bengals 23 to 20.
Ward did not disclose the amount of the fine but admitted that a fine had been imposed. Sources however, confirmed that the league had placed $15,000 as a fine on Ward for the hit on Shipley. The hit temporarily knocked out the wide receiver and gave Shipley
a concussion.
A further comment from the league is expected on Friday.
The hit came after Shipley missed a catch from the quarterback, Carson Palmer, in the end zone. In the next instance, Ward delivered his terrible blow that threw Shipley down. According to Ward’s version of events, he was aiming for his shoulder but the
fact of the matter is that the hit connected directly with Shipley’s helmet.
“I just tried to make a play and unfortunately he got hurt,” Ward later explained. “It’s part of the violent game we play. If you play that position, it kind of comes with the territory.”
After the game, the hit was widely criticized as dirty play. Leading the charge against Ward were Cincinnati’s quarterback Palmer and wide receiver Terrell Owens.
“I just hate to see a guy get hit like that in the head,” Owens said adding that taking a ‘cheap shot’ like the one in question was uncalled for.
Defending Ward was Cleveland Coach Eric Mangini. He tried to paint the hit as just an aggressive play in a sport that prides itself in not being a contact sport but a ‘collision sport.’ Owens then came out against the Browns coach and possibly even went
over the line.
He suggested that 90 percent of the Browns roster didn’t like Mangini and neither did Owens. “We’ll see who’s going to do some cheap shots next game,” Owens said. The next game between the Browns and the Bengals is scheduled for December.
Ward maintains that he had no intentions of injuring Owners. He said that instincts drove him when he saw Shipley with the ball in the end zone and there was no ill will.
"It wasn't malicious intent to knock him out or get him hurt," Ward said. “I reacted to what I saw and tried to make a play.” Ward said that he didn’t hit Shipley with all his strength though he did admit that the hit was pretty violent. “I just hit what
I saw, it all happened so fast.”
It might just be an innocent hit that had unintentional consequence but the league has lately been trying to come down on unnecessary hits on the head. A recent study on the effect on concussion in professional football warns of the serious risk NFL players
subject themselves too. The league has been spurred into action to make the game safer. The fine on Ward represents the new direction on contact the league has been trying to take more than it does the illegal nature of the hit. A former NFL vice president
wanted to a much heavier fine to be placed on Ward for a hit he described as “one of the worst I’ve seen in a while.”
That is one opinion and it isn’t particularly popular. Long time friend and teammate of Shipley, Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy certainly does not share that view of the hit. McCoy also said that Jordan himself acknowledges that it was a good hit.
Ward is unlikely to change the way he plays football and Browns coach at least doesn’t want him to. The Browns haven’t had an aggressive safety in a while and Mangini intends to use him to the fullest.
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