A good stiff kick to the head

Haynesworth is a very big man. 6′6″, 320 pounds big.  He was at work the other day and got mad at a competitor.  Things weren’t going well and he was frustrated.

The competitor was down momentarily and defenseless.  Haynesworth vented his frustration by kicking him…in the head…with cleats…causing 30 stitches.

His employer has suspended him from 5 weeks of pay and threatened to fine him some more.  The team he actually works for has said they might do more if they are not happy with those penalties directly from the above.

Only in the NFL.  If I walked into work and kicked somebody in the head causing 30 stitches, I would lose my job.  No questions asked.  I would also be in jail.  No questions asked.

The local police have said that they are willing to pursue legal action if the victim is willing to press charges.  We’ll see what happens in the long run.

The NFL should have sent the message that intentionally kicking somebody in the face who had lost their helmet is unacceptable.  Losing a little over a months pay is a slap in the wrist for somebody that should be worrying about whether he will ever be able to play again.  They should have suspended him at least 1 year.  At least.

People are not allowed to spike other people’s face at work.  This did not happen in the middle of the play.  This was while everybody was standing up to head back to the huddle.  Unacceptable.

Don’t give me the argument that these people are all testosteroned up and enraged by the intensity of the sport.  If the athletes cannot handle the situation better than that, then they do not need to be playing football on national TV making the money that first round draft picks make in the NFL.