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.