National Fightin' League

One of the bigger controversies coming out of week 12 in the NFL are the fights breaking out on the field. The chatter started last week when Oakland Raiders' Defensive Tackle, Richard Seymour, drilled Pittsburgh Steelers' Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, in the face with an open-handed slap, and escalated with Sunday's brawl between Tennessee Titans' Cornerback, Cortland Finnegan, and Houston Texans' Wide Receiver, Andre Johnson. What may have surprised people more than the actual fight on Sunday, was Finnegan's opponent. Andre Johnson has been humble, level-headed, and anti-diva since entering the league, so it was a bit of a shock to see him throwing haymakers during a game. Johnson's actions -- along with the actions of Richard Seymour -- were ultimately wrong, but they weren't without reason.

We often hear about players “policing themselves” in hockey, which essentially means if a player is taking cheaps shots, talking too much trash, or generally just playing dirty, then chances are he is going to have a meeting with somebody's fist in the near future. In my opinion, Andre Johnson was simply “policing” the game, because the officials just weren't getting the job done. Cortland Finnegan has a reputation for being a nuisance on the football field, who takes cheap shots whenever possible, and already had a history of trying to get under Johnson's skin. Before the fight broke out Finnegan had popped Johnson under the facemask right at the snap of the ball, which was completely ignored by the referees. Finnegan had used the same tactics earlier on in the game, which he was also not flagged for. Now, I have never been an advocate of violence, but you can only expect a grown man to be able to handle so much in a competitive, violent, hyper-masculine setting, before he eventually snaps. That's what happened to Andre Johnson, and his whoopin' of Cortland Finnegan was the result. Johnson is the best Wide Receiver in football, who was being wronged by another player, and by the officials for missing Finnegan's transgressions, so he enacted the only solution at that point in time, by ripping Finnegan's helmet off, throwing him to the ground, and connecting with three solid punches.

Johnson and Finnegan have both been fined $25,000, but will not be suspended, which I am particularly pleased with. As aforementioned, Andre Johnson has been a model citizen since being drafted out of Miami. To give some perspective, Johnson sincerely apologized to the Texans' organization, players, and fans for loosing his cool, even though he received an abundance of praise for his actions, and was actually awarded the game ball on Sunday. But he did deserve to get fined for his actions. You can't throw punches in the NFL and expect there to be no repercussions. I felt Finnegan's suspension should have been a bit more than Johnson's -- because he is a repeat offender -- but I guess you can only fine a guy so much for getting his butt kicked on TV.

Andre Johnson's actions may not have been responsible, but they were justified. Johnson was defending himself when the referees wouldn't, while trying to end the unscrupulous behavior of one of football's biggest instigators. My unbiased opinion also knows that Richard Seymour striking Ben Roethlisberger was wrong (even though the fan in me enjoyed seeing Big Ben get jacked in the face) the point can still be made that he was validated in his indignation, as Roethlisberger was taunting Seymour after a touchdown pass. You could make the point that the incident would not have even occurred had Roethlisberger not felt the need to degrade a player on the team he was already beating doubtlessly. On a side note: You would think Ben Roethlisberger might want to just lay low this season and avoid any extra publicity.

So although fighting is wrong, and it will never be embraced like it is in hockey, the message behind the fighting is quite clear. The retaliations of Andre Johnson and Richard Seymour are proof that football players won't simply stand by and allow others to act like punks in the NFL. And perhaps by getting their bells rung a bit, individuals like Ben Roethlisberger and Cortland Finnegan will realize their actions have consequences, and there are players around the league who have no problems ensuring those consequences are enforced.

...Injustice for All

After speculations of sanctions and suspensions it appears the Iowa Hawkeyes –- and basketball recruits Josh Oglesby and Marcus Paige -- will receive no penalties for inappropriate recruiting methods. What scandalous actions could have brought about such an investigation? Oglesby and Paige had a chance encounter with (gasp) Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore at a Hawkeye's football game in September, and were even photographed with Kutcher during the day (the horror). No, I did not misconstrue that information at all. Two Iowa recruits happen to run into a celebrity couple at a football game, take a picture with one, and the NCAA needed an investigation. The last time I checked, Ashton Kutcher is not an agent (actually, what does Ashton Kutcher do nowadays?) and neither is Demi Moore. I can understand if these two high schoolers had a meeting behind closed doors with Mark Cuban, but they just had an unintentional run-in with two celebrities, who also happen to be fans of Iowa sports. And heaven forbid they take a picture with one of them; it's just inconceivable that two high school kids would want their picture taken with a guy they most likely have seen on television or at the movie theater. Did we really need an NCAA investigation to figure that out?

Even with the ridiculousness of the entire Ashton-Demi situation, the real issue is the NCAA regulations for their student athletes. The simple solution I have -- which is shared by many individuals in the field who I have great respect for –- is to pay college athletes. If the NCAA would just swallow their pride (and their greed) there would not be the bevy of investigations, sanctions, and penalties that we see every year. When looking at just this season of college football, it is easy to make the case for compensating college athletes.

One of the more glaring examples would be the North Carolina Tar Heels, who lost seemingly half their team to suspensions early on in the season for a game against LSU. Most of the suspensions stemmed from player interactions with agents and/or professional players. Now, it seems fairly obvious that losing 16 players would put any team in a bit of a disadvantage. And who could forget the highly publicized scandal involving former USC Running Back, Reggie Bush. Bush's actions while he was still a Trojan cost this year's team the chance to play in a bowl game, had they performed well enough throughout the year to even qualify. And believe me, they're USC; the powers-that-be would find some way to get them in a bowl game, no matter how bad they are. Bush still denies the allegations that he received cash and other gifts, yet he decided to give back his Heisman trophy, which leaves the award vacant for the first time in its history. But the one event that perturbs me more than the others involves Georgia Wide Receiver, A.J. Green. Green was suspended for selling one of his game-worn jerseys on line, to an individual who happened to be a football agent. Not only did Green have to sit out the Bulldog's first four games of the season, he was also forced to return the $1,000 he made from selling the jersey. Green's absence diminished any chance of Georgia having a successful year, and also killed his hopes for this year's Heisman trophy.

I'm not saying that paying college athletes would solve all the corruption, double-talk, and deceit within the ranks of college athletics, but it would at least cut down on the amount of violations and suspensions, especially when the current team had nothing to do with the violation. The USC sanctions were enforced when Reggie Bush was already playing with the Saints in the NFL, which means his wrongdoings are affecting kids who never even played with him. I can understand that there needs to be some ramifactions for Bush's actions -- and you can't punish him because he's making millions being spectacularly mediocre in the NFL -- but sanction the school, not the atletes. This issue with Bush is a clear example of how a compensatory system would most definitely be an improvement from the standards already in place, where the universities and television stations are essentially sending these athletes out to make millions of dollars that the athletes will never see a penny of. It's almost a form of legalized prostitution. While I do know that nobody is forcing these kids to play, they still have scholarships and potential professional careers to consider. And is it so wrong for A.J. Green to try to sell his own jersey so he can have money for groceries, gas, and maybe just to have a little bit to spend on himself? It is fair that he makes the University of Georgia millions of dollars through his athletic ability, but has to return $1,000 of his own money because he didn't follow the NCAA's rules? The answer to both of these questions is an emphatic “NO”. If colleges and universities would simply use some of the fat bank they're making on sporting events to pay their athletes, then UNC would not have played with half its roster against LSU, A.J. Green would be a Heisman candidate, and there would actually be a Heisman trophy winner for 2005. The potential for improvement seems to vastly outweigh the negatives in this situation.