When the New York Jets were fined just $100,000 for the infamous tripping of Miami’s Nolan Carroll by Jets coach Sal Alosi, many of us remarked how relatively light the punishment was for such an unsportsmanlike act. It appears, however, that even that fine is too much for the management of the Jets, which is appealing the punishment.
I have taken my share of appeals and believe strongly in the right for such review. However, there are times when it is necessary to accept responsibility and be grateful that a punishment is not more severe. I view $100,000 to be a joke in light of the offense. This appeal should be as shameful an act for Jets fans as the original offense, in my view.
Special-teams coordinator Mike Westhoff has gone on the offensive in pointing out that the New England Patriots that also used similar tactics as lining up along the line to hinder players. I am certainly willing to believe that, but Alosi went a bit further in magnifying that practice. I believe that the Patriots should also apologize for their use of this tactic. However, that does not relieve the Jets.
What is astonishing is that the Jets would keep this controversy alive with an appeal. The fine, after all, is relatively small for a team. Moreover, Jets owner Woody Johnson showed greater sensitivity in apologizing since to both Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.
This is an example of the difference between an appeal of right and the right appeal.
Here come the Jets
Like a bat out of hell.
Someone gets in our way,
Someone don’t feel so well!Here come the Jets:
Little world, step aside!
Better go underground,
Better run, better hide!We’re drawin’ the line,
So keep your noses hidden!
We’re hangin’ a sign,
Says “Visitors forbidden”
And we ain’t kiddin’!
Source: ESPN
Jonathan Turley
Just bring the football style of the late 70’s early 80’s back into play….injure em all and…wait that costs too much money…maybe 100k is a reasoned amount…
“The team needs to share responsibility to prevent the idea that it can hire persons of questionable sportsmanship to win for them and then suffer no consequence should the bad actor be caught.”
Lotta,
The thing is that I’m not at all sure that this coach was a bad actor, or merely someone caught up in the excitement of the game. There have been a multitude of incidences like this in both pro and college football in its’ history, some much more egregious. When you have a sport that encourages its’ players to do violence than the people playing , or in and around it are going to behave in a much more agressive way than would the normal person.
While I played all the major sports in my lifetime, I didn’t like plaing football because intrinsically it hurt to play the game. I lost my taste for basketball when it too turned mored aggressive. Curiously though, the worst sports injury I incurred was from a pickup game of softball. I was playing first base in a game my team was winning and a player who hit a grounder to short hit me in the forehead with his elbow coming into the base. Many stitches ensued.
Lottakatz,
A very good point–just when I was about to agree with the 4 mouse, er, musketeers…
As usual, it often takes a woman’s wisdom to wise dem (guys)
Lottakatz,
Yep
I look at it as punitive damages. A win secured by cheating can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars in endorsements and other commercial value added to a team. The team needs to share responsibility to prevent the idea that it can hire persons of questionable sportsmanship to win for them and then suffer no consequence should the bad actor be caught.
Mike, Mespo, and eniobob,
Finally something we can all agree on. 🙂
Mike S,mespo I am in complete agreement with both of you.
Jennifer, I agree with you until you mention the thing about the money ,you are probably right that the $100.000 may be a drop in the bucket,but over the years I have learned people who have money do not want to part with it period,no matter what the circumstance.That $5.00 to you or me is like $500.00 to them.
Mike S:
I agree completely with your assessment. This has become a “nanny league” meeting out punishment for things best left to the discretion of individual teams. Call me a “Team Rights” guy.
I think part of the issue for which they were fined was the public accusation, by one of their coaches, that the Patriots do the same things. It’s explicitly prohibited for players or coaches to accuse other teams of wrong-doing in public settings, just like it’s prohibited to criticize referees in the press. These actions in themselves incur fines from the NFL. As for the size of the fine – these are billion-dollar organizations. Their yearly expenses are in the hundreds of millions. Fining them $100,000 is like fining a middle class person $5. It sounds big to the average person, but it’s not that much to them.
I was watching the game, the incident and the numerous replays. It surely was a wrong act commited by an overexcited member of the coaching staff. however, I doubt very strongly that this was an explicit or implicit policy of the team, but rather the poor judgment of an employee. The player wasn’t injured, the coach was fired, his future NFL career is in jeopardy, so his fate is sealed. While the Jets bear a certain responsibility for this I think despite their wealth as a team, $100,000 was an excessive fine applied more for the leagues publicity, than as punishment for an impulsive and stupid act. Given all the gratuitous and sanctioned violence of pro-football, this was certainly a minor incident that has been much overblown.
Sports today is dominated by sociopaths. They have learned from an early age that their physical talents allow them to ignore the rules of decent society. The culture has seeped into the entire infrastructure of sports with the professionals being the worst example.
It is not surprising when players and teams refuse to accept consequences or admit fault. What is surprising is when you find one that has not drank the kool-aid.