If you are one of the few who hasn’t heard, in the final moments of the Thursday night matchup between the Steelers and the Browns, Cleveland defensive end and Arlington Martin product Myles Garrett hit Mason Rudolph with his own helmet.
Not all sports are violent, but in the case of football and hockey, there are parallels where players sign up knowing the potential for violent hits.
Rudolph, however, certainly did not sign up for what transpired at the end of the game.
Court of public opinion or court of criminal charges
Before you say he doesn’t deserve to face criminal charges, the foundation for such charges and accusations have been made — at least in hockey.
In 2000, Marty McSorely used his hockey stick to slash the head during a glove dropping fight against Donald Brasher. During the fight, which is somewhat normal for hockey players, McSorely was easily taken down by Brasher.
As Brasher was walking away, he made a motion of washing his hands, indicating McSorely was easily defeated.
Then, McSorely grabbed his stick, trailed him down the ice and struck Brasher in the head, knocking him unconscious. McSorely was suspended for the remainder of the season and eventually faced assault charges.
McSorely was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 18 months probation and never again played the game of hockey.
How much different is the helmet incident from last night?
It was assault. Period.
After facing an indefinite suspension, a few things remain, and one of those is will Rudolph press criminal charges?
Any way you slice it, everyone involved was out of line, and undoubtedly Garrett crossed the line.
For now, we wait and see.
