Fine after fine after fine. That has been one of the big headlines of this great 2010 NFL season, but it has been one of the more negative ones. It all started during week 6 when 3 defenders (James Harrison PIT, Brandon Meriweather NE, and Dunta Robinson ATL) dealt out huge hits on so called “defenseless players”. Each of those defenders was fined for a combined $175,000 for the deadly hits and has brought attention to the NFL on helmet-to-helmet hits to promote player safety. Now you would think that this is a great thing that the NFL is trying to protect its players, but when double standards, terrible officiating, and a fining system that makes no sense are put together, they mean trouble for the league.
Of the three players mentioned, James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers has been a victim of these fines four times and these fines have totaled $125,000 all together this season. All four of these fines have been unfairly ruled and one could see this if they watched all of the plays that Harrison was fined for. The NFL commissioner, Rodger Goodell, and the officiating crew of every Steelers game has put the Steelers under the microscope this season and the officials have been calling just bad penalties on Steelers players for roughing the passer, helmet-to-helmet hits, and various other penalties that never happened during the play.
It is very clear that Goodell is picking on the Steelers this season. This can easily be shown when you compare some of the other league fines to Harrison ’s this season. For example, Tennessee Titans cornerback, Cortland Finnegan, and Houston Texans wide receiver, Andre Johnson, started an ugly brawl in which both ripped off each other’s helmet and threw in blows to the head. Both of these players were flagged, ejected from the game, and fined only $25,000 for their vicious fight without a suspension. James Harrison was fined $75,000 for a hit on Cleveland Browns wide receiver, Mohamed Massaquoi; a hit in which was during a play, not flagged by the officials, nor was he ejected from the game for this hit.
Another example was when Oakland Raiders defensive end, Richard Seymour, was only fined $25,000 for sucker-punching Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, in the head; a play in which Seymour was penalized for, ejected from the game for, and took place after a play was over. There was another incident in which Denver Broncos head coach, Josh McDaniels was fined $50,000 for taping a San Francisco 49ers practice; a fine that is still less than Harrison’s un-penalized hit. This fining system that Rodger Goodell is using here is clearly unbalanced, unfair, and always seems to work in favor of any player who’s name is not James Harrison. An article about this matter, published on NFL.com, got a statement from Harrison regarding the fines and he said,
"It's starting to look like it's OK to cheat, it's OK to fight, but if you hit somebody too hard, we're going to fine you a whole bunch. Maybe it's because I play for the Steelers. Who knows?”
What it’s really starting to look like is the NFL is trying to protect its big name players, players who drive up their revenues, and players in which fans go to see at the games. Let’s break it down and see who exactly the “victims” of these hits were and how the NFL only really cares about money, not player safety. One of the “victims” was New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees. Well I don’t know about you but Drew Brees is a name I see a lot on the NFL commercials that advertise their merchandise and this is probably why Harrison was fined for barely laying a lick on him. Another big name is Houston Texans wide receiver, Andre Johnson. As you know already, he got into a fight with a Tennessee Titans defender and was only fined $25,000. If this were two no-names fighting each other, you can guarantee a suspension would be warranted to both of them. But why suspend a star player that is playing the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football and why suspend this player when you know he is the reason that some people are even watching or going to this game? The NFL didn’t suspend Andre Johnson is because they don’t want to lose any money from the NFL Network’s Thursday Night football game. Lately Rodger Goodell has been dealing out a wave of fines this year for “illegal hits” and the NFL is quickly starting to look like another branch of government and Goodell is resembling Uncle Sam to a frightening degree. If the fines continue the way they are, it will slowly tarnish the game of football. To prevent this, this fining system needs to be more consistent, more accurate, and it needs to have an EXACT definition of what is and what isn’t an illegal hit. When soft-spoken and quiet Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers speaks out against the fines, then you must be doing something wrong. An article published on NFL.com took a statement from Polamalu regarding the fining system and he said,
“I think 99.9 percent of the players would agree that we need to come up with a better system on how we fine players. I think current players should be involved, coaches should be involved, as well as front office people, including the commissioner. I think a more democratic approach to these fines would be better.”
It cannot get any clearer than that. Clean up your act Goodell and please maintain the integrity of the game of football in this league or the NFL will slowly wither away at the cost of these fines.
No comments:
Post a Comment