RiverDog wrote:
Did it enraged various sideline league personnel: No
First off, the term used in the letter was endangered, not enraged. Secondly, there most definitely WAS a very significant risk to sideline personnel as numerous objects were being thrown from the stands.
Trigger a melee: No- If what happened at the end of Bennett's play is a melee then there are melees in just about every NFL game.
I beg to differ. In a fight where there were three players from just one team that everyone agrees could have been suspended, with fans throwing objects from the stands, I'd say that qualifies as a melee.
Injuring a game official: No
Agreed, but they were unnecessarily thrust into a very dangerous situation.
Grabbed and twisted an opponents facemask: No
Agreed.
Threw a punch at him: No
There most definitely was at least one punch thrown by Richardson.
I'm not saying that the two situations were equal in severity. I was just using it as an example. All I am saying is that there was enough activity going on to where the NFL would have been on very solid ground to issue at least one and as many as three suspensions.
Riv,
The letter to Crabtree was all about HIS actions, as in HE threw a punch, he twisted a face mask, etc. Comparing the two incidents doesn’t really work. This was about what one of our guys did or didn’t do. The NFL didn’t look at the Crabtree incident and say we’re suspending these guys because one person started a melee, another guy threw a punch, another guy twisted a face mask, and another guy endangered sideline personnel. Crabtree did ALL of those things.Plus the incidents on Sunday were over 2 separate plays, the second of which Bennett wasn’t even involved in so anything having to do with Jefferson incident has nothing to do with Bennett. So looking at it from the perspective of what Bennett did or didn’t do:
Again did BENNETT’s actions endanger (sorry about typing enraged that was a typo) various sideline personnel? The answer is NO. The bottles being thrown and that stuff happened the NEXT play. A play that Bennett wasn’t even involved in, so how could his actions be the cause of endangering any sideline league personnel?
Again did his events trigger a melee? NO. Like I said before the events that happen on the ONE play that Bennett was involved in happen in the NFL 15-20 times a year... the fact that Richardson threw a punch does not make it a melee, and the incident with Jefferson was on a completely different play.
Again threw a punch: NO. Bennett did NOT throw a punch. Crabtree wasn’t suspended because other people threw punches he was suspended because of all the things he did individually, including throwing a punch.