This past weekend in the NFL, there were a handful of plays that drew the attention of the league office. Rob Gronkowski, Juju Smith-Shuster, and George Iloka all received one game suspensions for plays that occurred Sunday and Monday night. The NFL considered Gronkowski’s incident a blatant, dirty hit after an interception by the Buffalo Bills warranted the same level of discipline, as Smith-Shuster and Iloka’s plays that were not even close to being dirty plays. Is it fair to give the same consequence or penalty to events that were not on the same wavelength?
The NFL league office once again showed inconsistencies and lack of credibility by the decisions to suspend all three players. The Gronk hit was by all accounts, just short of assault. While the plays that cost Smith-Shuster and Iloka one game a piece, were plays that happen regularly in the NFL. The two may have deserved a fine at the absolute most, but of course Roger Goodell and league managed to fumble this decision.
Rob Gronkowski’s Cheap Shot
With under five minutes left in a game, the New England Patriots had a 20-point lead in, Tom Brady looked to connect down field with tight end Rob Gronkowski. There was some contact with Gronkowski by rookie cornerback Tre’Davious White; White would come away with the interception, and be out of bounds on his stomach. Gronkowski, who got up, visibly upset, adjusted his helmet and then proceeded to dive elbow first, with all his weight into the back of White’s head, causing a concussion. This is the type of cheap shot plays the NFL needs to take a hard stance against as there is no place in the game for them. How did the league respond you might ask? For concussing a player with visible intent to injure, one game suspension. One game. The NFL claims to be about player safety and improving the safety of the game, but in the words of Herm Edwards “come on man”!
Dicey in Cincinnati
Steelers and Bengals games over the last couple years have been wars on the field, to say the least. There is always a play here or there where the questioning of a hit or a call altered the game. On Monday night that was no different, an absolute battle and at times hard to watch with the level of violence. With time against them, on the drive where the Steelers would tie the game, JuJu Smith-Shuster, in a flow of the play laid Bengals Vontaze Burfict out. The block appeared to be within the rule, the taunting of Burfict by Smith-Shuster after the hit standing over the fallen linebacker was not.
The taunting and mixed with the way the play looked deserved a fine at most, but no the NFL suspended the Rookie WR for one game for the hit. Later, that drive when Ben Roethlisberger heaved a pass to Antonio Brown in the end zone, in a bang band play George Iloka met Brown helmet to helmet as Brown made the catch. Iloka was penalized for the hit which is understandable, but the play was not dirty in any way, shape, or form. Instances such as these can surface at any point during a football game since we are talking about a contact sport. If the league wants to issue a punishment, at best these were fineable offenses but not suspension worthy.
Both Juju Smith-Shuster and George Iloka intend to appeal the league’s decision. If the league upholds these suspensions and bulls them in with what Gronkowski did, then it just goes to show how bad the front office is and how out of touch with reality the commissioner has gotten. If the plays that got Smith-Shuster and Iloka suspended warrant one game suspension, then Gronk should have been suspended at least three games if not more. Once again, the league mismanages the interpretation of the rules and blurred the lines of what will cost you a game and paycheck. The NFLPA really needs to look at things like these three plays and help draw a clear line of what is and is not an action that can result in suspensions. I repeat there is no place in the game of football for what Rob Gronkowski did. If the league is truly worried about player saftey, they sure dropped the ball on this one to prove that plays like that will not be tolerated. Hey what else is new in the Roger Goodell run NFL……inconsistency week in and week out.
Written by
Carlo Guadagnino
Edited by:
Daniel Bishop M.A.
