Fight!!!!!!!

[Da Official]

Originally Posted by tjones1

W10 retaliated by pushing the offender...while I agree the action isn't as harsh as the punch... he's gotta go.

Agree to disagree.

tjones, I'll definitely take you up on that one. I disgree. A minor push in the back after getting slapped in the face should absolutely NOT result in an ejection. Now if the push knocks a player down or really agressive I can agree with an ejection.

[Rich]

The more people make the case for a flagrant T or even for a regular T, the more convinced I am I wouldn't call anything on W10.

I am willing to allow a little reaction to a punch in the face. In other words, I'm going to penalize what started this and understand that a player is going to stand up for himself after getting hit in the face.

[APG]

I can see the case for a regular T, and on my first viewing of the tape, I was inclined to call that. There is absolutely no way though I'd run white 10 in this situation.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

The more people make the case for a flagrant T or even for a regular T, the more convinced I am I wouldn't call anything on W10.

I am willing to allow a little reaction to a punch in the face. In other words, I'm going to penalize what started this and understand that a player is going to defend himself after getting hit in the face.

Fixed it for ya...

And he defended himself without throwing a punch, etc.

There is just nowayinhell W10 and Black 23 deserve equal penalties for their respective acts.

Maybe the FED needs an "instigator" rule like NHL hockey to make sure that a person that starts a fight gets punished accordingly.

[Rich]

This situation reminds me of one of the best pieces of game management I ever saw -- when Jerry Markbreit ejected Charles Martin back in the 1980s:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

On November 23, 1986, Chicago native Markbreit worked as an NFL referee at Soldier Field for the first time when the Green Bay Packers visited to play the Chicago Bears. In the second quarter of the game, Bears quarterback Jim McMahon was intercepted, and as he watched the proceedings downfield, Packers defensive end Charles Martin picked up McMahon and slammed him shoulder-first into the AstroTurf. Martin remained hovered over McMahon on one knee, taunting him, until Bears' offensive tackle Jimbo Covert barreled full-speed into Martin. Markbreit ejected Martin from the game, despite strenuous protests from Packers coach Forrest Gregg. It was Markbreit's first ejection as an NFL official. When describing the penalty, Markbreit stated that Martin "stuffed" McMahon into the ground.

OK, that's the NFL, but it was the play in my head when I saw this tape.

The thing I took away from that play is that a foul of such a heinous nature will yield some kind of response. The question is -- is it a reasonable response considering the heinous nature of the original foul and would penalizing the response take away from the deserved penalty of the original foul.

In this situation, the player commits a flagrant (at least intentional) foul and then punches a player not even involved in the situation in the face. A flagrant technical, no doubt. W10 then responds with a mild shove. While I would be happy to give a technical, even a flagrant technical, if W10 repsonded with a punch or even a wild swing, this response was nothing compared to the original punch to the face. I do not expect a player to simply walk away after getting punched in the face. I do not think W10's reaction was out of line considering.

Anyway, that's my reasoning. That shove would be a technical foul in a lot of situations, but here I'm passing on it. Maybe. It's easy to watch a film a few times and decide over a cup of coffee what you're going to do.