Monday, October 02, 2006

What the Fuck was He Thinking?!?

During the Cowboys/Titans football game yesterday, Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth stomped Dallas lineman Andre Gurode in the head, not once but twice - while Gurode's helmet was off! While I did not see it when it happened, I have certainly seen the replay several times and the only thing I can say is "What the FUCK was he thinking?!?" The play was over, the guy was on the ground, and you decide to stomp on his head with your cleats? Personally, I hope Haynesworth gets suspended for the rest of the season for this. I know that football is a fairly physical sport and people get hurt, but there's a big difference between accidentally stepping on someone in a pile up and deliberately stomping on their head. Needless to say, Haynesworth was ejected and Gurode left the game, needing stitches. Here's the ESPN.com story.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event. There have been a number of deliberate assaults in professional sports. Here are a few of the most notable:

December 9, 1977: Kermit Washington, of the LA Lakers, punches Rudy Tomjanovich, of the Houston Rockets, in face. The punch fractures Tomjanovich's skull and left him unconscious in a pool of blood. Upon examination by arena doctors, it was discovered that Tomjanovich was also leaking spinal fluid into his mouth.

September 22, 1985: Yankee manager Billy Martin and pitcher Ed Whitson get into a bar-room brawl. Both blame the other for beginning it. Martin is left with a broken arm and two broken ribs.

April 30, 1993: Monica Seles is stabbed in the back by a Steffi Graf with a steak knife.

June 28, 1997: Boxer Mike Tyson bites off a chunk of Evander Holyfield's ear during a match.

February 21, 2000: Marty McSorley, of the Boston Bruin, strikes Vancouver Canuck Donald Brashear in the head with his stick. McSorley is convicted of assault in October of the same year.

February 16, 2004: Vancouver Canuck Todd Bertuzzi sucker-punches Colorado Avalanche Steve Moore from behind, and then drives Moore face-first into the ice, shattering Moore's face mask and fracturing three vertebrae in Moore's neck. Bertuzzi plead guilty to assault, served a 17 game suspension and returned to play. Moore has not.

September 25, 2006: Stockcar driver Michael Simko, after hitting the wall during a race, ran and leaped feet-first through the windshield of Don St. Denis's car, blaming St. Denis for causing the crash. Simko then threw his helmet at St. Denis while he was still in his car. St. Denis got out of the car and the two exchanged punches. Both are suspended indefinitely.

3 comments:

Adam said...

Then there's the Marcus Vick stomp in the VT/Louisville game.

And the BC/UVa cheap shot last year.

I know it's intense out there and all, but c'mon. Take time to THINK.

RogueHistorian said...

Oh no doubt! There are simply too many of these instances to list them all.

JanieBelle said...

Oh, and how bout Dec. 29, 1978, when Woody Hayes, the OSU coach, punched Clemson's player, Charlie Bauman?

Tragically classic example.