Courtney Upshaw Fined $16,000 for What?

Dec 29, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw (91) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Bengals defeated the Ravens 34-17. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

If you’re anything like me, when Courtney Upshaw blasted Ben Roethlisberger early in the Baltimore Ravens 26-6 win over Pittsburgh, your reaction was something like this: “Yes! Awesome hit! Wait… what?!”

The referee threw a flag for Upshaw’s clean hit, and Ravens fans and football purists alike erupted.

When I look at the replay, which you can see in very low quality here, I understand why the referees called the penalty. From a certain angle, it looks like Upshaw lowered his head to hit with the crown of his helmet. In fact, Upshaw had his head up the whole time, as he was coached to do, and he never made contact with Roethlisberger’s helmet.

So I just chalked this one off as a bad call, but not a big deal. Then, the NFL made it a big deal by fining Upshaw $16,000.

That’s garbage. Look at the replay. Right before the moment of impact, Upshaw’s head is up, his eyes fixed squarely on Big Ben’s number seven. He aimed low and made a great hit.

I am not alone in being disgusted with this atrocious fine. Let’s hear from Torrey Smith on the matter:

The NFL needs to figure out what a legal hit is and quickly, or the integrity of the game really is at stake. I’m not just talking about the wussification of football, which is a separate issue. I’m fine with the NFL enforcing rules that genuinely make the game safer, but hits like Upshaw’s are not the problem.

Really, I’m talking about the fact that nobody quite knows what a legal hit looks like anymore. As for Upshaw, he plans on appealing the fine. If he doesn’t win this appeal, then I’ve given up hope on the league’s backwards attempts at protecting player safety.