NFL News: New York Jets fined $100,000 for tripping incident
The New York Jets have been fined $100,000 for the sideline tripping incident earlier in the season that involved their Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Sal Alosi. The coach had instructed his players on the sideline to form a wall to deter opposing
team's players when running along the sideline. NFL condemned the tactic as ‘both a competitive violation’ and ‘dangerous.’
The league first became aware of the issue when Alosi put his knee forward in front of Miami’s Nolan Carroll causing him to trip. Fortunately, Carroll was not seriously injured and he later returned to the game. But immediately after this incident, Jets
suspended Alosi for the remainder of the season however continued to further investigate the matter.
Videos of the play showed Jets' players standing at the sideline to form a wall as per Alosi’s instructions. The coach at first tried to hide his role in the tactic but when his culpability was established, the Jets suspended him indefinitely. A spokesman
for the New York Jets said that the franchise would comply with league’s decisions in this regard.
Head Coach Rex Ryan and Special Teams Coordinator Mike Westhoff denied any prior knowledge of Alosi’s tactic. Even players on the sideline were kept in the dark. Although, Tight End Jeff Cumberland confirmed that he had been told to stand close to his teammates
along the sideline but he had no idea why he and other players were told to do so.
“(Alosi) never really just gave a reason,” said Cumberland. “He just said during punt return, 'You just stand right here by this line, everybody just stand right here.' There wasn't really a reason why.” Cumberland added that with the reason not being given,
the players had themselves assumed that it was just in case somebody ran over there.
Another reason for the league fining Jets is the statement made by the franchise's Special Teams Coordinator in which he accused other teams of also employing the same tactic. Westhoff particularly named the New England Patriots, claiming that he had noticed
the Patriots standing on the sideline in much the same way as Jets did.
Westhoff didn’t out-rightly say that the Patriots were doing the same thing as Jets but he did explicitly imply it. “When they punted, Were they back? Yes,” said Westhoff regarding the Patriots. “When the other team punted, Were they up tighter? Yes. Absolutely.”
He said that a look back at the game videos would show it clearly. He concluded by saying that he didn’t teach it to the Jets and wasn’t aware that it was happening.
Following Westhoff’s controversial statement, New York Jets' owner Woody Johnson has personally apologized to the owners of both the Patriots and the Dolphins for the conduct of his coaching staff.
The NFL, in its statement, said that all the teams are required to report suspected violations to the league for review while the fine levied against the Jets is meant to emphasize the fact that clubs are fully accountable for the actions of their employees
even when employees act on their own. Since this incident, NFL has also sent memos to all the teams reminding them of the rules and restrictions regarding the conduct on the sidelines.
In addition to his suspension without pay, Jets have also fined Alosi $25,000. Meanwhile, despite all the criticism that the Jets have faced lately, the owner still is proud of his organization as he said, “We're going to work on things like our culture.
We're going to work on trying to make ourselves an organization that doesn't have, preferably, any incidents but we know that we're going to have some.”
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