You can’t suspend one instigator and not the other. I completely agree with Mike Evans and Tom Brady’s outcries against the NFL’s 1-game suspension of Mike Evans as if he’s getting suspended, Marshon Lattimore should also be suspended too.
First off, let me just say that I don’t think either one of these guys should be suspended for their actions during the fight between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints players last Sunday.
These two teams are arch-rivals fighting for supremacy in the NFC South. Of course, tempers are going to flare in the heat of the moment, and especially between the great players competing against one another.
This type of rivalry is what makes the NFL, and really sports in general, so exciting. Seeing players of the highest caliber, which Tampa Bay WR Mike Evans and New Orleans CB Marshon Lattimore are, on rival teams compete against one another for 60 minutes makes for must watch TV, even more so when these two players are known rivals.
That’s what makes Mike Evans’ absolutely devastating body check on Lattimore so great. And also, really funny. Did you guys see how far Lattimore flew?!?!
However, since the NFL has decided to suspended Evans for a game, Lattimore should also get the exact same suspension. They both bear an equal amount of responsibility.
How can the NFL say that Marshon Lattimore had absolutely no responsibility for causing that huge brawl when he was the guy that was chirping Bruce Arians and Tom Brady?
You can’t expect to chirp a former Super Bowl winning head coach (who’s still on the sidelines for some reason?) and the opposing teams starting QB and not expect to get some pushback. Now, I’m sure Lattimore didn’t expect to get push backed into last week by Evans, but he should have expected some bickering and shoves in retaliation that could have led to a brawl.
I don’t get why the NFL has decided to only punish Evans for this incident. He was just sticking up for his quarterback…in an albeit aggressive way.
Still, he technically wasn’t the one who started the brawl as he just decked Lattimore and no one else. That would be Saints safety Marcus Maye.
He was the one who then proceeded to tackle Evans, and then Lattimore followed suit. Then both teams converged on one another, and then members of the sidelines started to rush the field.
In truth, if anyone should be suspended, it should be Maye.
He wasn’t decked by Evans, but still tackled him. Obviously, he was being a good teammate by standing up for Lattimore and I applaud that, but the NFL clearly doesn’t understand that standing up for teammates is different than just body slamming someone for no reason.
Lattimore was chirping the G.O.A.T. and got decked for it. Plain and simple.
Hopefully, the NFL overrules its original suspension ruling as the Buccaneers have filed an appeal on Evans’ behalf, but I’m not holding out too much hope. The NFL just loves to suspend the wrong people for the wrong actions.
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