The National Football League (Cue the Ron Jaworski voice) handed down some fines today for Sunday's violence. In some not surprising news, Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison, Atlanta Falcon Dunta Robinson and New England Patriot Brandon Meriweather were all fined for their hits. What is surprising is how the fines were doled out.
Robinson and Meriweather were each fined $50,000. Certainly not chump change. But Harrison was fined an outrageous $75,000. And it wasn't even for the more brutal of the two hits he delivered.
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Now, the Massaquoi hit looked legal to me. I could be blinded by the fact I am a Steelers fan, but I did try my best to look at the hit as objectively as possible. Massaquoi ducked his head as he was trying to catch the ball. Had he been upright and Harrison clocked him in the head, then yes, that would be a flagrant foul. But that's not how it went down. And I still don't think Harrison hit Massaquoi with his helmet. It still looks like a shoulder to me.
The NFL says that Harrison received more than Robinson and Meriweather because he was a repeat defender, not because the severity of his hit compared to theirs. Harrison was fined $5,000 earlier this year for picking up Vince Young and breaking him in half. I think Harrison telling the media that he plays to hurt people probably had something to do with it as well.
Do you think Harrison deserved the fine?
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I agree. I think Harrison's fine had more to do with the fact that he was quoted saying that he tries to hurt people. It really couldn't have come at a worse time with the NFL looking to crack down on "devastating hits."
ReplyDeleteThe Massaquoi hit wasn't penalized and he definitely didn't lead with his head. He mainly used his shoulder to make the tackle, but it also looks like he extended his arms to push him. That being said, I'm okay with him getting fined for that play because Massaquoi was in a vulnerable position, which is something the NFL has been cracking down on in the past couple years.
I think it's a joke that he got fined more than Meriweather and Robinson, but $75,000 is nothing to James Harrison. The man got a $10 million signing bonus last year. For it to cost him $75,000 to knock a Cleveland Browns player unconscious is like making all my speeding tickets five bucks. I would go 100 MPH on the highway and not think twice about it. In order for a person to change his or her behavior, there must be consequences that actually matter to that person. This simply is not the case in the NFL right now. If they really want to send a message, they need to start suspending people.