The Nick Barnett thing.

[Bearfanmike20]

I have a question... during the Bears Packer game one of the officials was draging Nick Barnette out of a pile by his throat. Barnett pushed him away. The NFL did not levy any fine or punishment to Barnett.

1. Is it bad form by the Ref to get in a scrum like that?

2. Should Barnett have been suspended??


I'm a basketball ref, so I wanted the opinion of some seasoned football guys.

[Scooby]

I think Barnett is doing his job by trying to stop a fight. No way should he be fined or suspended!

[OverAndBack]

Barnett was none too pleased about it.

I wanted to know what Quirk had on his hat brim - was it an ump cam? FOX didn't use it, so was it an NFL Films thing? Or was it something else?

[Sonofanump]

Guys, becareful what you do at certain levels.

At the high school level, I won't even touch a kid to help him snap up his chin strap.

[BktBallRef]

We should all be careful about touching players. I don't think it's ever a good idea to grab a player around the neck. Jim Quirk was warned that he should refrain from that type of restraint in the future.

As for Barnett, I think he's more embarassed that he was taken down by a 67 year old man.

[WhistlesAndStripes]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3171273

The NFL has fined official Jim Quirk a game check -- $8,150 -- for inappropriate contact with Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Barnett on Sunday.

Quirk was summoned to NFL offices Friday to meet with commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL senior vice president of football operations Ray Anderson. In determining the penalty, the league took into account previous incidents, including Quirk's contact Dec. 16 with Atlanta Falcons fullback Jason Snelling on a kickoff return.

The NFL has informed Barnett and Packers head coach Mike McCarthy of their actions. Barnett's agent, who had planned to file a grievance with the NFL over Quirk's behavior, told ESPN's Chris Mortensen, "This action is more than satisfactory. There is now no reason to pursue a grievance."

Quirk aggressively grabbed Barnett around the neck and pulled him to the ground during Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. McCarthy was critical of Quirk following the incident.

"I'll tell you what, I've never seen anything like that in all my years," McCarthy said. "I didn't see the whole thing but I thought the official was totally out of line the way he grabbed Nick around the neck and pulled him out of there.

"There was a lot going on throughout the game on both sides of the ball after the play was over. Their offensive line was getting after Nick a bunch down the stretch. And that goes on in these types of games. I didn't see all of it but I saw the end of it. I thought it was totally unprofessional. I thought it was totally out of hand," McCarthy said.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello has said McCarthy would not be disciplined for his remarks.