With all the controversy over “Bounties” in professional football you would think there would be some level of outrage. Instead the controversy has been met with a collective shrug. It is no secret that football player pummel each other during games. It is no wonder then when you saw Brett Favre getting the hell knocked out of himself during the 2009 NFC championship that the New Orleans Saints had a bounty on his head.
It took the NFL two years to document what we all could see during the game, that the Saints were determined to put Favre down. It was clear early on, when defensive end Bobby McCray drilled Favre in the chin after a handoff, and continued through a game that included two personal fouls and a third the NFL later said should have been called. Favre’s ankle was heavily bruised after McCray grabbed it as part of a high-low hit in the third quarter, and in all it was one of the most brutal beatings we’ve seen a veteran quarterback take.
McCray was fined $20,000 and immediately after the game the Vikings had filed a complaint with the NFL over their vicious treatment of Favre.
Vikings Coach,Brad Childress said,
“What I hate to see are late hits or attempts to hurt anybody. I don’t think there’s a place for that in the game.”
ESPN discussed the issue of deliberate attempts to injure that spring. Whether there was a bounty or not, the Saints did everything they could to remove Favre from the game. In some cases, what they did violated NFL game rules. We’ve known that for two years.
The issue is that what was originally written off as an attempt by individual players to hurt another player, was actually endorsed by the coaches. This is something that is going to weigh on the sport.
The question that will be asked by the NFL during this off season is that was what they did an illegal act and if so what will the rules be in the future to stop it from happening again?
Watch Favre Get His Pants On The Ground
