NEW YORK — The NFL imposed huge fines Tuesday on three players for dangerous and flagrant hits last weekend and warned that, starting with this week’s games, violent conduct will be cause for suspension.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was docked US$75,000 on Tuesday, while New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather and Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson will lose $50,000 each.
In the past, players were either fined or ejected for illegal hits. However, after the series of recent flagrant tackles, several of which resulted in concussions, the NFL ramped up the punishment.
Football operations chief Ray Anderson indicated the suspensions could start immediately — that is, involving play from last weekend’s games.
However, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league wanted to give teams fair warning and would send a memo Wednesday, outlining the changes.
Ravens tight end Todd Heap took a vicious hit from Meriweather that Heap called “one of those hits that shouldn’t happen.”
Robinson and the Eagles’ DeSean Jackson were knocked out of their game after a frightening collision in which Robinson launched himself head first to make a tackle. Both sustained concussions.
Harrison was punished for his hit on Mohamed Massaquoi. His hit on Joshua Cribbs did not figure in the fine, although it also caused a concussion; the league said Monday it was permissible.
Harrison’s agent, Bill Parise, called the fine “staggering” and said it would be appealed. He emphasized that neither play drew a penalty.
“I’ve talked to James, and he’s very upset,” Parise said. “He’s quite confused about how to play football.”
The league noted Harrison is a repeat offender; he was fined $5,000 for unnecessary roughness in Pittsburgh’s win over Tennessee on Sept. 19.
In letters to the three players, Anderson said:
“Future offences will result in an escalation of fines up to and including suspension.”
NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith wouldn’t directly answer whether the league had consulted with the union before toughening up the penalties, saying simply that he talked to Commissioner Roger Goodell every day.
“We are going to look at this issue along with the league,” Smith said when contacted in St. Paul, Minn. “I am for anything that keeps our players safer. But at the same time, I don’t look at everything in a simple microcosm.”
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin favoured stricter enforcement of helmet hits, although he still thought Harrison’s tackle on Massaquoi was legal.
“I think it is the proper initiative that the NFL has,” Tomlin said before the fines were announced. “I think we need to safeguard the men that play this game to the best of our abilities and make it as safe as we can.
“We’ve used words like flagrant and egregious and lowering the strike zone and those are words you use as a coach to make sure you’re playing within the rules. ...”
Browns president Mike Holmgren said it was important to have game video reviewed by officials familiar with the nuances of tackling.
“I think most of the time you can look at a play as a coach and say, ’You know what? That didn’t have to happen,”’ said Holmgren, the former Seattle and Green Bay coach. “And then sometimes you look at a play and say, ’Unavoidable. It was just one of those things.’
“I don’t know if they are going to make that distinction yet, and I think it’s a very important distinction.”
Texans tackle Eric Winston — a former college teammate of Meriweather at Miami, and a former teammate of Robinson in Houston — saw dissimilarities in the two tackles involving those players.
“I love Brandon to death, but that was a flagrant foul. That’s what the league is talking about,” Winston said. “Dunta’s hit, that wasn’t even with the helmet. That was just a collision.”
Winston said the difference was that Meriweather launched himself at Heap.
Andre Johnson, the Texans’ All-Pro wide receiver, said stiffer penalties would make players more hesitant to make hits and Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards didn’t support suspensions.
“If we get fined, we get fined,” he said. “But the suspension stuff? That’s taking it a little too far. I mean, it is football. We all signed up to play this game. Things happen. You can’t alter the way you play the game. Sometimes that’s how you get touchdowns.”