CaptainHook Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) link Jacksonville safety Donovin Darius was fined $75,000 by the NFL on Tuesday for a hit across the neck of Green Bay's Robert Ferguson that left the wide receiver temporarily paralyzed. Ferguson temporarily lost feeling in his legs after this clothesline from Darius. Darius, who was ejected from the game, wasn't suspended because league disciplinarian Gene Washington noted that this was the first time he had been fined for a violation. The hit came in the fourth quarter of Jacksonville's 28-25 win over the Packers. Ferguson caught a pass over the middle, and Darius hit him across the helmet and neck with a forearm. Ferguson lay on the ground and was taken off the field, regaining feeling in his legs later, after he was hospitalized. He remained in the hospital Sunday and Monday nights. ESPN.com's John Clayton reports Ferguson was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon. He is officially listed as out for Friday's game against Minnesota with head and neck injuries. Darius said in a statement that he spoke with Ferguson on Monday in the hospital. "We had a good conversation in which he told me he has no hard feelings," Darius said. "We agreed that it was a part of the game. The most important thing is that Robert is OK." Darius, whose annual salary is more than $4 million a season, was ejected from the game by referee Ed Hochuli. "You violently and unnecessarily struck your opponent in the neck and head area with your forearm," Washington said in his letter to Darius. Packers quarterback Brett Favre said he expected a heavy fine. "I don't know him personally. He seems like a good guy and it's an unfortunate hit," Favre said. "And his comments were he was going for the ball. Maybe he was. Maybe his sole intention was to knock the ball out, but it just didn't seem like it. "You'd hate to think that you'd ruin a guy's career, and Fergie, by all accounts, will come back from it. But mentally will he be the same? I don't know," he said. Edited December 21, 2004 by CaptainHook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsnell Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Seems a little steep, unless he has been fined before. As was said on ESPN Yesterday, the hit keeps getting worse because it is replayed over and over. It was also said that if Fergusen would have gotten up after the hit, you would have never heard another word about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Seems a little steep, unless he has been fined before. As was said on ESPN Yesterday, the hit keeps getting worse because it is replayed over and over. It was also said that if Fergusen would have gotten up after the hit, you would have never heard another word about it. 624759[/snapback] Uh, yeah, but he didn't get up. He spent two nights in a hospital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 It was also said that if Fergusen would have gotten up after the hit, you would have never heard another word about it. 624759[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Justice is served. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 75G's is no slap on the wrist, even for the kind of money Darius makes. If he had been in any trouble before, it would have meant at least a game, because intent can't be judged..... only what happened can be. This reminded me of someone else,...a Sapp in Oakland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 75 grand is still cheaper than if Ferguson hadn't gotten up at all!!! (And, believe me, that COULD have happened) :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiss Cheezhead Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I'm okay with the fine. It's way more than I would have expected, which is probably because the NFL wanted to suspend him but couldn't. Still, stop with the "we wouldn't have heard anything about it if Ferguson had gotten up" crap. That's just about ridiculous. I guarantee most of the former NFL players on TV would have chastised Darius regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiL10(s)ArEaJoKe Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Uh, yeah, but he didn't get up. He spent two nights in a hospital. 624788[/snapback] Ummmmmm......well............WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOOTBALL IS A CONTACT SPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiL10(s)ArEaJoKe Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I'm okay with the fine. It's way more than I would have expected, which is probably because the NFL wanted to suspend him but couldn't. Still, stop with the "we wouldn't have heard anything about it if Ferguson had gotten up" crap. That's just about ridiculous. I guarantee most of the former NFL players on TV would have chastised Darius regardless. 625212[/snapback] So you think Ronnie Lott, Steve Atwater, Jack Tatum, Lester Hayes, Chris Dishman, Rod Woodson (hard hitting d-backs), etc........... would side with the NFL???? Plays happen so fast you sometimes only have time to react to stop a TD, granted it was a nasty hit, but if you are a receiver and don't enjoy getting JACKED up every now and then.....then become a D-back!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Ummmmmm......well............WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!FOOTBALL IS A CONTACT SPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 625275[/snapback] I agree 100% that football is a contact sport. I love hard bone crushing hits as mush as anybody BUT you dont need to go head hunting and clothesline a WR to do so. That cheap shot could have screwed up the rest of Ferguson's life. Not just his football career. A good hard hit within the rules of the game is great to see. The hit that Darius gave Ferguson was sickening. The fine was totally warranted in this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Little Bit Special Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 In the past I don't think the NFL has handled these situations very well, but in this case I think they've done a good job. The penalty and ejection were appropriate. By levying a hefty fine, they've made a statement that these types of hits will not be tolerated. And by declining to suspend Darius they are giving a guy with no history of unsportmanslike play the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully, Darius will get the point and not appeal this fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiss Cheezhead Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 So you think Ronnie Lott, Steve Atwater, Jack Tatum, Lester Hayes, Chris Dishman, Rod Woodson (hard hitting d-backs), etc........... would side with the NFL???? Plays happen so fast you sometimes only have time to react to stop a TD, granted it was a nasty hit, but if you are a receiver and don't enjoy getting JACKED up every now and then.....then become a D-back!!!!!! 625279[/snapback] I haven't heard any of those guys talk, but it doesn't really have much relevance to my point. I'm sure if you ONLY asked guys who HAVE clotheslined other players what they think of the "technique", they probably would tell you they don't have a problem with it. So what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezhed Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I think $75,000 is about right, but I would have suspended the guy the rest of the season also. The Megan Fox-bag says after the game that " its part of the game, besides, i was going for the ball". What a loser!!! what got me was why didn't Wahl or any of the other Pack come down and knock him on his ass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiL10(s)ArEaJoKe Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 I haven't heard any of those guys talk, but it doesn't really have much relevance to my point. I'm sure if you ONLY asked guys who HAVE clotheslined other players what they think of the "technique", they probably would tell you they don't have a problem with it. So what? 626627[/snapback] SO WHAT?????? Most of the aforementioned players I spoke of are Hall of Famers that's What!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 what got me was why didn't Wahl or any of the other Pack come down and knock him on his ass hey Megan Fox, they were afraid of getting knocked out, GB is a team full of ***'s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiss Cheezhead Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 hey Megan Fox, they were afraid of getting knocked out, GB is a team full of ***'s. 627497[/snapback] Please ignore H8, everyone, he's just baiting me. A-hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiss Cheezhead Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 SO WHAT?????? Most of the aforementioned players I spoke of are Hall of Famers that's What!!!!! 627439[/snapback] First of all, didn't someone correct you about that earlier in the week? I'm not going to look it up, but maybe you should be sure about which players are ACTUALLY in the HOF. Secondly, even if they were ALL Hall-of-Famers, who cares? Do I have to agree with them or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsnell Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Typical Packer Fans, just a bunch of whiners. They are just jealous because the Puckers can't hit like that. They whined on the Sapp hit too. I admit that the hit looks very bad in slow motion or in a still picture, but everyone seems to forget that these guys are running at full speed when contact takes place. All it takes is a split second for a good hit to turn into a bad hit. Maybe the Packers should put Favre at safety. He seems to be the only one on the team that has any Nads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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