A dirty hit from Vikings safety Harrison Smith on Arizona Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins should draw ire from those in the NFL universe.
When the NFL claims they are trying to better protect players, I have a tough time believing them. Sure, they may raise the Tom Bradys and Aaron Rodgers’ of the league onto a pedestal, since you apparently can’t even sack Brady without drawing a penalty while a similar sack took Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa out of a contest and drew nothing.
And it shows a real clear inconsistency and possible bias in the NFL today. Their “protecting the players” rule seemingly only pertains to certain players, and clearly, DeAndre Hopkins is not one of them. Not a face of the league, so to the NFL, he’s unimportant.
So who cares if Harrison Smith delivered a blow to Hopkins’ helmet? He’s playing for one of the league’s least valuable franchises in front of a fanbase whose home games see a flood of the opposing team’s colors! At least that’s what appears to be going on in the minds of NFL brass.
Hit on Arizona Cardinals Hopkins should have been called
Hopkins did not suffer an injury, but how many defenseless receivers have we seen not get up from this. Yet NFL officials seem to pick and choose what is a penalty, and what isn’t. Touch Tom Brady’s shoulder pad before he even throws the ball, you will probably get flagged for 15 yards.
Initiate a vicious, helmet-to-helmet hit, or anything resembling it on a defenseless player, and you might get flagged, fined, and suspended if the NFL and its officials feel like throwing the flag and reviewing the tape. If the NFL is truly serious about eliminating vicious hits, they need to put everyone on an equal pedestal and reprimand the officials for no-calls on blatantly vicious hits.
As it stands, certain players get preferential treatment. Those who aren’t the face of the league or GOATS, or even playing for the right franchise that brings in mounds of revenue, you’re nothing but a cog in the NFL’s gargantuan machine. The NFL should be embarrassed by the inconsistencies of its officiating and again, if they are serious about taking these hits out, they need to treat each vicious hit equally.
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Article Source: DeAndre Hopkins wants answers from NFL after vicious blow to head doesn’t draw a penalty by Jason Owens