Panthers safety Sherrod Martin has been fined $40,000 today for a helmet-to-helmet hit he doled out in Sunday's game against Cleveland at the goal line.
I was in Cleveland, and Martin's hit was definitely illegal (although I don't think he did it on purpose). But the size of the fine is awfully large given that Tennessee's Cortland Finnegan and Houston's Andre Johnson were fined only $25,000 for engaging in a brief but full-scale fight Sunday which included ripping off each others' helmets and Johnson landing three punches to Finnegan's unprotected head.
That's just wrong. If you are going to give Martin a 40K fine -- and I understand he's a repeat offender, as he got fined $5,000 for another illegal hit in Week 1 -- then Finnegan and Johnson should have been suspended for a game apiece and lose the game check that goes along with it.
Martin is appealing the fine, as he should, although the way the NFL is cracking down on helmet-to-helmet hits I doubt that he'll get much mercy from the league. Finnegan and Johnson, though, should consider themselves extremely lucky, because what they did, to me, was worse.
Or, as Martin's Carolina teammate Tyrell Sutton colloquially put it in his Twitter account today: "Crazy tht Sherrod got a 40k fine for a hit n the middle of the game but Andre johnson and cortland finnegan got 25k each for a fite. Bogus"
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9 years ago
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14 comments:
This is not his first rodeo, he should have known better. The fine was correct.
Ironic....Martin took the biggest hit of the game when the Albino Rhino plowed him over for that TD.
$40k is a big chuck...he probably "only" makes $750k a year.
I agree 110% Scott! Terrible.....
So when are the ref's going to be fined for making game changing bad calls. What accountability are they held to for their continued Bad judgements. Are they given year eye tests?
Hurry up and hire RUSS GRIMM!
It wasn't like the receiver tucked his head as he went into the end zone, causing the head to head hit with Sherrod, whose head stayed on the intial path. That never happens.
Scott if you don't think it was intentional, then I have a hard time seeing how he could be fined or even flagged for that matter. I think he was called for unnecessary roughness on a defenseless receiver, which to me indicates that he "intentionally" did something over and above what should have been done, (i.e. unnecessary), when hitting the reciever. He did not leave his feet until after contact, he did not lead with his head. It really almost looked like he was going for the ball more that the big hit (the picture in the paper shows him getting to the ball at nearly the same time as Moore.) I disagree with the penalty and obviously the fine. It was not a dirty hit. Nobody wants to see another person get injured but that type of collision is a part of the game. I think the NFL is over reacting. I hope it reconsiders it postion on some of the fines before it ruins the product on the field.
The stupidity is that Jerome Harrison has been a 4 time offender and this past time got 25k fine for a hit on the QB in which you see him duck his helment into the QB's. What is the NFL doing these days? Sherrod was making a play on the ball and gets 40k for only his second offense? This just proves that NFL has no idea or basis for levying fines other than just rolling the dice and coming up with a figure and going with it. As the boys on MNF say "C'mon Man"!!!!
He "only" makes 345K a year. 40K is a lot of money, more than 10% and thats before taxes...thats a big chunk of his income
Why?
Did the NFL just a few weeks ago clearly tell players NOT to attempt injury with massive head shots that create concussions and can cause life threatening permanency down the road after retirement with blood clotting and anurysms??
What about no pay and ejection for the rest of the season?
"So when are the ref's going to be fined for making game changing bad calls. What accountability are they held to for their continued Bad judgments. Are they given year eye tests?"
This statement I agree with 1000%. If the refs have a bad call, they get docked $1000.00. if the same ref calls a bad call twice in a game, he gets ejected out of the game and a new one comes in. If a challenge is overturned then that's the same as a bad call. If the guy under the booth let's the play stand in order not to let the ref on the field get ejected then there should be an independent panel of former players and coaches who will review the play once the game is over and if their call is overturned then they lose 10% of their pay for the game and lose a game check for the next scheduled game they are supposed to referee. Funny how we can fine the players but the refs get off scott free. This is their way of putting food on the table and these guys are costing them money. If they don't like these rules then go find another job. If you can't do the job right, then we'll find someone who can.
Gee whiz.
Nomore Pat Tillmans out there in the ritzy league? What a lowlife bunch of cowards who want to feast on millions even go on stroke to punish the fans plus make cheap shots to injure others yet refuse to serve their country who make it all possible.
Cheap shot yellow bellies. Any intentional act to injure someone needs to be made a criminal act punishable by jail or fine or both depending on the offense.
HEED THE RULES!!!
You should try anger management classes Anonymous 8:07 and let your buddy Anonymous 8:21 join you, goobs.
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