11-16-2019, 10:31 AM
CLEVELAND (AP) — The NFL flagged itself for blowing the call on the nasty helmet-to-helmet hit put on Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.The league said Friday that Tampa Bay safety Jordan Whitehead should have penalized for striking Mayfield in the side of the helmet in last Sunday’s 26-23 overtime win. Mayfield was sliding at the end of a 35-yard scramble when he got blasted by Whitehead Foster Moreau Jersey , who was initially penalized before the officials conferred and decided to pick up the flag — and one against Mayfield for taunting.First-year referee Shawn Hochuli made the situation worse by incorrectly announcing that Mayfield “was still a runner and therefore is allowed to be hit in the head.”Senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron pointed out several mistakes in a video released by the league.“I’ll tell you ahead of time that we had a flag on this play and we incorrectly picked it up after we had a conference by the officials,” Riveron said before showing Mayfield get blasted by Whitehead. “We’re watching the defender as he lowers his head to initiate contact, and he does make contact, so that right there is a foul within itself. No. 2, as we can see the quarterback starts to slide, and even though he slides late, he is still afforded protection from forcible contact to the neck and head area.”Whitehead is expected to be fined, a person familiar with the league discipline told the AP earlier this week. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because fines are announced Saturday.The shot on Mayfield was making other reverberations Friday.Browns coach Hue Jackson said he was “disappointed” with comments made by Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter, who felt Mayfield was taunting after he jumped to his feet and walked toward Whitehead. Mayfield admitted telling Whitehead he was going to have to hit him harder to knock him out of the game.On Thursday, Koetter was asked for his take on the play and intimated Mayfield was equally guilty.“What they said on the field was it’s a helmet-to-helmet hit and then (Mayfield) got up and taunted our guy, so then they threw the second flag Joey Bosa Jersey ,” Koetter told reporters in Tampa. “Somehow, they worked it out that they were picking up both flags. Where I was on the field, I didn’t see it as a helmet-to-helmet (hit). But when you look at it on tape, it clearly was, and I guess the fallout from that is what it is.”Jackson was bothered by Koetter’s remarks, and defended Mayfield’s actions after the hit.“That disappointed me,” he said. “The guy shouldn’t have hit our player in the head, first of all, and, obviously, our guy got up and he tossed the ball to the official. Obviously Tony Pollard Jersey , the guy was close by, but the bottom line is our guy shouldn’t be getting hit in the head. I don’t care about some taunting foul. We’re talking about our quarterback taking a shot in the head and sliding. I think that’s wrong. Totally wrong.”Jackson further explained his disappointment with Koetter, arguing that Whitehead’s hit triggered everything.“The biggest thing that happened was the quarterback got hit in the head,” Jackson said. “Taunting? Does that really matter? I mean, really? That, to me, made no sense.” The Patriots and the NFL didn’t know that Antonio Brown would be sued for sexual assault and rape before he signed with New England. But Brown definitely did.Ian Rapoport of the NFL reports that Brown and his accuser, Britney Taylor, “engaged in settlement talks for months” before the lawsuit was filed.It’s not a surprise. Most civil lawsuits are preceded by an effort to resolve them before the legal process begins.In a case like this, including inflammatory allegations of a shocking nature against a high-profile athlete, a potential settlement has greater monetary value before the case is filed Noah Fant Jersey , because the defendant is buying not just a resolution of the claims but a guarantee that no one will ever know about it (like former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson did, before one or more of the persons who had settled their claims against him violated confidentiality agreements for which they had received fair and proper compensation). For an NFL player subject to the league’s P.R.-driven Personal Conduct Policy, which polices a player’s private life even in cases where the police never get involved, there’s even greater value in preventing knowledge of the allegations from ever coming to light. There’s even more value in securing a promise from the accuser to never talk to anyone about it, including the NFL �? especially when the NFL has the power to suspend Brown or, if the allegation of rape is true, banish him for life.The demands made by the accuser’s lawyers during settlement talks aren’t known; the clunky statement issued by Brown’s lawyer in the immediate aftermath of the filing of the lawsuit hinted at $1.6 million as the asking price. If that’s the opener, it quite likely could have been negotiated down to half of that or less. If that’s the bottom line, Brown may eventually wish he’d paid it.While it may seem crass to consider allegations of sexual assault and rape in these terms, Brown’s accuser chose to make those allegations exclusively via a process that dispenses judgment through the transfer of money. The fact that settlement talks occurred for “months�? before the lawsuit was filed underscores the reality that she decided to exercise her absolute right to attempt to obtain justice through the pursuit of financial compensation.That said, once the lawsuit is filed Dalton Risner Jersey , the value of the case drops, because a large portion of that value comes from never filing the lawsuit in the first place. If, however, Brown’s lawyers were to somehow reach a deal before Britney Taylor meets with the NFL on Monday, they would be doing much more than helping Brown avoid an adverse verdict in a court of law. They could be helping him avoid paid leave and, ultimately, a suspension.