Titans' Haynesworth stomps on helmetless lineman

[Domi28]

He should be charged with assault. He should be cut.

If I were to kick someone in the face at work, I'm certain I'd be arrested, and wouldn't have a job the next day. It should be no different for athletes.

If I tackled someone at work, I'd be out of a job too. Let's stop comparing our jobs to theirs. KEEP IT ON THE FIELD!!!!!!! That being said, a big suspension is in order, that was just brutal.

[Jimmy!]

I think the assault issue is a fine line.

Where do you draw it? When the play is dead? If the guy's helmet is off?

If this guy gets charged with assault, what happens the next time a guy is kicked or a punch is thrown? Not that I agree with what Haynesworth did. It's a deplorable act. Fines and suspension no doubt. Assault I'm not so sure it would stick.

[The_Admiral]

Sodboy, are you one of those Pack/Sox people?

[Sodboy13]

Yep, sure am. You can blame my parents for that - neither of them gives a lick about sports, so they pretty much let me go my own way for team allegiances (save for the Sox, as my mom's South Side Irish.) For whatever reason, I picked the Packers at the age of 3, and have supported them ever since.

[The_Admiral]

I was gonna say, the Cardinals have been gone for a while, and the Bears don't play at Wrigley Field anymore. It's safe to be a Bears fan.

[Dilbert]

5 game suspension without pay.

[oz615]

Dilbert beat me to it

[whitedawg22]

Great article about the stomping here by ESPN.com's Mark Kreidler: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...mark&id=2610491

I like his point that yes, it was an exceedingly dirty play, but dirty stuff goes on all the time in the NFL. What was bad was his timing, picking on a defenseless player in a potentially career-threatening way.

As an ex-rugger, I know that players police themselves (more so in rugby than football, as there is only 1 official for 30 players). When something dirty is done to one of your guys, more often than not, something dirty will be done to the offender in retaliation. It's one of those things that makes players think twice about punching someone in the jewels when given the opportunity, and it probably even serves to keep dirty play to a minimum.

The key is not to be stupid about it. It's OK to let someone know that you're not going to stand for any more of his crap, but to do so the way Haynesworth did is idiotic. Committing such an act right after the Cowboys scored makes him seem like a poor loser, risking the chance of crippling Gurode or ending his career is inexcusable, and to pick on a guy that is helmetless on the ground is cowardly.

Bottom line, I think the 5 game suspension is fair. More, and the NFL would have been acting like they're scared of the public response to something that, in actuality, goes on all the time. Less, and they aren't sending the message that what he did goes above and beyond acceptable revenge tactics.

[KevinMcD]

He gets a 5 game suspinsion w/o pay. I guess that is good. Will cost him $190,070

LINK

[NJTank]

Longest Suspension for an on field incident in NFL history

[Squeaks4]

He should be charged with assault. He should be cut.

If I were to kick someone in the face at work, I'm certain I'd be arrested, and wouldn't have a job the next day. It should be no different for athletes.

If I tackled someone at work, I'd be out of a job too. Let's stop comparing our jobs to theirs. KEEP IT ON THE FIELD!!!!!!! That being said, a big suspension is in order, that was just brutal.

I was about to say the same thing. If I were to tackle someone on the street or check a co-worker with a stick I am sure I would be at least charged with assault. Although I do see the difference. The above are sport actions and this was not. However, you can?t use that as an example of why he should be put in jail. (Although I agree with you).

On I side note, I just heard on ESPN that the Nashville police department and the Nashville D.A. has contacted the cowboys and has stated if Andre Gurode wanted to press charges to get in contact with them because they are ready to move forward with and investigation and charges.

[EatSleepJeep]

This is the NFL's Todd Bertuzzi moment, no?

Except Gurode doesn't have a broken neck and will play again.

Right, apples and oranges.

However, the guy did require something like 30 stiches....nasty.

You know an inch here or there and maybe he strikes the temple or an eye, this was very dangerous and there is no way he should be allowed to play for atleast 4 weeks.

I'm not belittling this event in anyway. I think that punishment is fitting with the crime. However, I think Bertuzzi got of scot free. If I could skate one game against Todd, I would cheapshot him something fierce. He ended a player's career.

Had Gurode lost an eye or had more serious trauma, the league probably would have responded in kind. Haynesworth is lucky there was no lasting injury.

[PaperAirplane31]

Longest Suspension for an on field incident in NFL history

I still think 5 weeks is too small a suspension.

[Jigga]

Of course, if Haynesworth was a referee and accidently threw a bean bag that hit a player in the face damn near causing him to lose an eye, and directly resulting in the severe limitation of vision in said eye, there would have been no need for a suspension or any outcry from the masses right?

Sorry, I heard someone talking about the Orlando Brown situation and about how it was still worse than the Haynesworth incident.

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With that said, I think it's a fair suspension for the NFL to impose. However, I think the Titans should step and go farther and give Fat Albert the rest of the season to cool off. Let's see if they really care about the person or just the player. Think that's steep? Well, did you know that Haynesworth has quite the history of this crap. He was (at least) twice kicked out of practices in his pro/college careers for excessive violence during practices (against members of his own damn team!), so this isn't new. He needs anger management counselling or at least some pills or something...thank God he's just a football player, and not a regular Joe. At least he has an outlet for his outward aggression...

[Fred T. Jane]

With that said, I think it's a fair suspension for the NFL to impose. However, I think the Titans should step and go farther and give Fat Albert the rest of the season to cool off. Let's see if they really care about the person or just the player. Think that's steep? Well, did you know that Haynesworth has quite the history of this crap. He was (at least) twice kicked out of practices in his pro/college careers for excessive violence during practices (against members of his own damn team!), so this isn't new. He needs anger management counselling or at least some pills or something...thank God he's just a football player, and not a regular Joe. At least he has an outlet for his outward aggression...

Word to that on all parts Greg, but I think the NFLPA would have kittens if the Titans manned up and did something like that. Not that that's a bad thing or anything...

[Squeaks4]

Of course, if Haynesworth was a referee and accidently threw a bean bag that hit a player in the face damn near causing him to lose an eye, and directly resulting in the severe limitation of vision in said eye, there would have been no need for a suspension or any outcry from the masses right?

Key word and difference there man.

[ninersdd]

Didn't the Cowboy say that nothing had gone on during the game before that?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Of course, if Haynesworth was a referee and accidently threw a bean bag that hit a player in the face damn near causing him to lose an eye, and directly resulting in the severe limitation of vision in said eye, there would have been no need for a suspension or any outcry from the masses right?

Key word and difference there man.

Just wanted to add that I still get upset looking back at that incident. Last I heard, Orlando Bloom is still dealing with bad headaches, decreased vision, etc. What a terrible way to end a career.

[BlueSky]

One comical element of all this is Tony Siragusa getting all upset about it. Slight irony there since there's now a definition of "roughing the passer" which is throwing the QB down and intentionally landing on him with all your weight, and this because of how Siragusa crushed Rich Gannon and put him out of a playoff game.

Also, the NFL should definitely make a rule that if the ballcarrier loses his helmet the play is immediately blown dead. Somebody could get killed.

[Jezus_Ghoti]

I think what Haynesworth did was despicable, and I think that the punishment is fitting.

But I want to add something that I think everyone is missing.

We should not be surprised by his actions. There is a reason that he was so rough, and it's the same reason why so many NFL players are getting arrested for fights at bars, beating their wives, and other assault-related offenses. These guys are trained from a very young age that the way to succeed is to be aggressive. They are trained to hit as hard as they can, without thinking about consequences. Coaches fire them up before games and urge them to play with a huge chip on their shoulder. Fans cheer them on when they do this kind of stuff. A "mean streak" is considered a good thing in the NFL. It's the culture of the game. The players learn to be animals on the field (and off of it, in many cases).

I don't think we can hold these guys to the same standards as the rest of us who work in non-violent jobs, and we shouldn't be so surprised that something like this happened. The league needs to police itself so that we don't see this kind of garbage all the time, but to say that what Haynesworth did constitutes a criminal act is taking it too far.