[ColoradoTree]

Obviously, what Garrett did is abhorrent and he deserves a lengthy suspension, and on that we all agree. 

But the question of whether what he did is outside the bounds of the sport is another question. The NFL rulebook envisions just this sort of aggression in Rule 12, art. 17: "A player may not use a helmet that is no longer worn by anyone as a weapon to strike, swing at, or throw at an opponent." The penalty is 15 yards and automatic disqualification for the player at issue, and if it's by the defense, it's also an automatic first down.

So, this is something that the NFL considered would happen, and they put a provision in the rulebook to address it. Yes, it's outside the bounds of the sport, but so is throwing a punch (two punches in a game gets you automatically tossed, though refs can toss you after one if they deem if "flagrant"). 

I'm somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of criminal charges coming into play in the vast majority of on-field situations, given the assumption of risk of contact that each player undertakes. Yes, this is far outside acceptable behavior, and thus, reasonably anticipated risk, but so are lots of penalties related to overaggressive behavior on the field. The fact that the NFL anticipated this happening and set a penalty for it in rulebook suggests to me that it's not so far outside the bounds of the sport that it warrants bringing criminal law into things. That said, there are certainly on-field extremes I can envision where I'd absolutely agree that criminal charges are warranted. I'm just not sure this crosses that line into conduct that belongs in a criminal courts. 

And in terms of who instigated it, you can easily argue that Garrett did by dragging Rudolph down when he saw the ball get passed. Not the initial wrap-up, but then dragging him to the ground when he knew the ball was out. But ultimately, it doesn't matter much who starts a fight, it matters who uses the weapon. A QB getting pissed about a defensive lineman taking him down in what he saw as a bit late? That happens. Some extracurricular pushing and shoving? Happens. Garrett could have gotten up, laughed it off and gotten back to the line of scrimmage. Rudolph may have crossed a line of his own by grabbing at Garrett's helmet, but to that point, Rudolph hadn't hurt Garrett at all. Instead, the man who was far bigger and stronger ripped off Rudolph's helmet, and even where DeCastro was in the middle, he chose to do something that could have seriously injured Rudolph or even ended his career. (That helmet is damn heavy, and Rudolph has a concussion history.) Garrett could have tossed the helmet aside after he ripped it off. Instead, he used it as a weapon. 

I don't think the rest of this season will be the end of it. I think they'll wait and see whether the Browns make the playoffs, and probably add 6 games or so to start next season. They could suspend him for all of next season and I'd be on board with that. If Rudolph had been seriously injured (like Steve Moore was after Todd Bertuzzi sucked punched him in the back of the head), I'd cheer on his civil lawsuit against Garrett, and I'd probably feel differently about a criminal case, whether that's fair or not. Garrett should pay for this, but given that Rudolph seems like he's OK, I'm not sure Garrett should pay for this with his liberty. (He's incredibly lucky in that sense. It's really easy to imagine Rudolph getting knocked out and bleeding profusely from a hit like that. Or worse--imagine a man as strong as Garrett hitting your head with a five-pound blunt object. If worse had happened, you can rest assured the suspension would have been far longer, and there would have been other civil or criminal penalties. But the degree of harm matters for what should come next outside the NFL discipline process.)

[ColoradoTree]

Obviously, what Garrett did is abhorrent and he deserves a lengthy suspension, and on that we all agree. 

But the question of whether what he did is outside the bounds of the sport is another question. The NFL rulebook envisions just this sort of aggression in Rule 12, art. 17: "A player may not use a helmet that is no longer worn by anyone as a weapon to strike, swing at, or throw at an opponent." The penalty is 15 yards and automatic disqualification for the player at issue, and if it's by the defense, it's also an automatic first down.

So, this is something that the NFL considered would happen, and they put a provision in the rulebook to address it. Yes, it's outside the bounds of the sport, but so is throwing a punch (two punches in a game gets you automatically tossed, though refs can toss you after one if they deem if "flagrant"). 

I'm somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of criminal charges coming into play in the vast majority of on-field situations, given the assumption of risk of contact that each player undertakes. Yes, this is far outside acceptable behavior, and thus, reasonably anticipated risk, but so are lots of penalties related to overaggressive behavior on the field. The fact that the NFL anticipated this happening and set a penalty for it in rulebook suggests to me that it's not so far outside the bounds of the sport that it warrants bringing criminal law into things. That said, there are certainly on-field extremes I can envision where I'd absolutely agree that criminal charges are warranted. I'm just not sure this crosses that line into conduct that belongs in a criminal courts. 

And in terms of who instigated it, you can easily argue that Garrett did by dragging Rudolph down when he saw the ball get passed. Not the initial wrap-up, but then dragging him to the ground when he knew the ball was out. But ultimately, it doesn't matter much who starts a fight, it matters who uses the weapon. A QB getting pissed about a defensive lineman taking him down in what he saw as a bit late? That happens. Some extracurricular pushing and shoving? Happens. Garrett could have gotten up, laughed it off and gotten back to the line of scrimmage. Rudolph may have crossed a line of his own by grabbing at Garrett's helmet, but to that point, Rudolph hadn't hurt Garrett at all. Instead, the man who was far bigger and stronger ripped off Rudolph's helmet, and even where DeCastro was in the middle, he chose to do something that could have seriously injured Rudolph or even ended his career. (That helmet is damn heavy, and Rudolph has a concussion history.) Garrett could have tossed the helmet aside after he ripped it off. Instead, he used it as a weapon. 

I don't think the rest of this season will be the end of it. I think they'll wait and see whether the Browns make the playoffs, and probably add 6 games or so to start next season. They could suspend him for all of next season and I'd be on board with that. If Rudolph had been seriously injured (like Steve Moore was after Todd Bertuzzi sucked punched him in the back of the head), I'd cheer on his civil lawsuit against Garrett, and I'd probably feel differently about a criminal case, whether that's fair or not. Garrett should pay for this, but given that Rudolph seems like he's OK, I'm not sure Garrett should pay for this with his liberty. (He's incredibly lucky in that sense. It's really easy to imagine Rudolph getting knocked out and bleeding profusely from a hit like that. Or worse--imagine a man as strong as Garrett hitting your head with a five-pound blunt object. If worse had happened, you can rest assured the suspension would have been far longer, and there would have been other civil or criminal penalties. But the degree of harm matters for what should come next outside the NFL discipline process.)