NFL sends out video and memo on illegal hits
This week’s game saw some pretty serious hits and a concussion or two. Nothing out of the ordinary for the NFL except in the aftermath, the league fined three players ridiculous amounts of money. Pittsburgh’s defender, James Harrison has to pay a mind boggling
$75,000 for a hit that did not even get him penalized in the game.
So distraught was Harrison that he has been mulling retirement. Harrison clarified that he wasn't aiming for the helmet when he delivered that hit and claims instead that the hit landed into the helmet because of last minute movement by Cleveland Brown’s
wide receiver, Mohamed Massaquoi. That might well be the truth. It’s a fast paced game that we all love. Things happen so fast that if you blink, you’d miss all the action. Of course, eventually Harrison took back his words and said that he won’t retire but
you just have to wonder what it means for a defender to face the prospect of heavy fines and even suspensions for doing what he is supposed to do.
The suspensions are from now on part of the league’s disciplinary policy on hits. The League sent out a video and a memo outlining what does and does not constitute a legal hit? NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell has directed all coaches and all teams to show
the video to the players. It’s not just the players who are in Goodell’s crosshairs. “Coaches are expected to teach playing within the rules,” the memo read. “Failure to do so will subject both the coach and the employing club to discipline.”
The league has made it clear that it has a no tolerance policy on any illegal hit that might cause damage. Even first time offenders could face suspensions. The penalties would get increasingly severe if the misconduct continues. “You can play a hard, physical
game within the rules,” Goodell told players. The commissioner of course tried to play down the whole thing. He said that the league was not changing rules but instead more strictly enforcing existing rules.
The league itself isn’t sure what exactly it wants the NFL’s identity to be. It’s a sport characterized by burly men crashing into each other. The hits that the league is now trying to curb on are what make football standout. For years that kind of violence
has been glorified and the league has been making money from it. The practice continues to this day. Where on the one hand the league fined James Harrison and Brandon Meriweather for the hits they landed this weekend, on the other it was selling the photos
of those hits on its website. The league thrives on the violence that it’s trying to cut back on.
The photos were later removed from NFL’s website and having realized how blatantly hypocritical the league had been, they offered a public apology and said that mistakes like this one would not be repeated.
The defenders have their own concerns. The way they play their game is being challenged on grounds of safety. That makes sense but how the league protects its players and which players it protects reeks of hypocrisy. The rules protect the offensive players,
but the defence is still fair game. “They want to save the receivers and quarterbacks because they sell all the jerseys,” Dolphins’ linebacker, Channing Crowder said. “They don't give a d**n at all about defensive players because we don't sell as many jerseys
as them.”
A closer look at NFL’s rules adds weight to those assertions. The chop-block, for example, is illegal during a passing play but legal during the rush. “Why is it fair for an offensive lineman to dive at your knees?” Colts defensive end, Dwight Freeney asked.
Because the league believes that making the run would be too difficult without taking a high-low shot at the defenders. So, to satisfy the touchdown hungry fans, the league has allowed it.
The chop-block causes as many missed games as the concussions do but the difference in attitude to the two plays has sowed seeds of resentment among defenders. A growing chorus of defenders has spoken out against the discrepancy and many have made statements
that they would not change the way they play the game. Brian Urlacher being among them, said “Just because there’s a fine, it’s not gonna change the way we play football.”
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