The Final Verdict: Garrett v. Rudolph
November 14, 2019, will go down in the history of the National Football League as one of the most embarrassing and pathetic nights of all time. Though watching Cleveland’s defensive end, Myles Garrett, and Pittsburgh’s quarterback, Mason Rudolph, acting like complete imbeciles was entertaining for thousands across the nation, this was one of the most image-damaging nights for the sport. Let’s understand something: there is a fine line between being physical and assault…and that line was crossed by millions of miles.
Here are the facts: the score was 21–7 in favor of Cleveland, and with under 20 seconds left to play, the Steelers snapped the ball on third down and had to gain 29 yards for a first down. As Rudolph threw a short pass to Trey Edmunds, Edmunds carried the ball just shy of the first down marker, and fourth down would begin with eight seconds left. As the play ended and Edmunds flipped the ball back to the referee, a scuffle turned into a brawl — in a matter of seconds — between Garrett and Rudolph. This brawl turned into 31 other players getting themselves involved! Rudolph seemingly perceived Garrett’s hit on him as unsportsmanlike, and as a reaction, Rudolph tried taking off Garrett’s helmet as the two crashed on the turf. When the men got back up, Myles Garrett was furious and proceeded to take off Mason Rudolph’s helmet and whack him on the head with it.
Just this week, Garrett claimed that Rudolph called him a racial slur and as of now, the primary punishments follow: Myles Garrett is suspended for the remainder of the season (he will not receive money during this suspension) and possibly more games in the season(s) to come. Furthermore, he has been fined $45,623. Additionally, the two teams have both been fined $250,000, and last week, Rudolph was fined $50,000. Rudolph’s fine has not been thoroughly reasoned, but the claim for Rudolph targeting a racial slur towards Garrett was not confirmed.
Over the past few decades, the NFL has developed a stigma based off of individual players’ actions off the field. From O.J. Simpson’s murder case, to Michael Vick conducting dogfights, to Adrian Peterson’s physical abuse towards his child, to Ray Rice and later Kareem Hunt harming women (which was seen on camera), the list is endless. I understand that there are many players in the league who are fantastic role models that demonstrate respect, humility, pride, and kindness, but the outliers are causing large predicaments in our society.
Situations like these put the NFL in a very awkward and yet important position because our culture is extremely dependent on athletes. Think about it: from the clothes that they wear, to the terminology they use, to the music they prefer; there is a major correlation between athletes and culture. The way in which Roger Goodell and the National Football League determined consequences for this helmet clobber was just as crucial as a Supreme Court decision. I say this in the respect that our nation tends to abide by the way the Court determines outcomes in controversial cases, and this ultimately trickles into the way citizens gauge their own life circumstances. Because the National Football League has tremendous importance in our society, if the consequences were to be considered “weak” by the masses, then these habits could potentially translate into heightened poor sportsmanship in future generations of football, and maybe even elevate the horrors which occur in some of the streets in our nation.
I believe that even though Myles Garrett’s actions were barbaric, repulsive, and one-hundred percent inappropriate for any realm of society, there should still be consequences for Mason Rudolph. No player should be placing their hands anywhere near another player’s helmet; there is a reason why face-mask penalties exist, let alone suspensions and fines for when players try ripping off others’ helmets off. Rudolph’s instigation was apparent, therefore, in my eyes, I believe that his $50,000 is justifiable. In terms of Garrett, the punishment should be extremely harsh; I believe that a three to four year suspension should be placed upon him in order to set a strong precedent, preventing his actions from becoming normalized on any football field. Lastly, both teams deserve the fine that they were given because this incident happened under their representation of professional football. Reprimanding the Browns and Steelers should influence teams across the league to place an emphasis on enforcing a higher level of respect and leadership. As Goodell and the league continue to release critical information regarding punishments and potential regulation changes, my podcast, “Mic Drop with Jared Rosenthal”, will keep everyone in the loop.
