NFL Suspends Wesley
The NFL suspended Carolina Panthers defensive back Dante Wesley for one game without pay for what it called "a flagrant violation of player safety rules."
The suspension was imposed for a hit on Tampa Bay Buccaneers punt returner Clifton Smith during a game Sunday.
Wesley is to miss this weekend's game against the Buffalo Bills.
The NFL issued a written statement announcing the suspension, saying that Wesley "left his feet, launched himself and made shoulder and forearm contact with the neck and head area of... Smith, who had not caught or touched the ball and was in a defenseless posture."
According to the league's announcement, Ray Anderson, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, wrote in a letter to Wesley that the rules "specifically provide that a member of the kicking team is prohibited from interfering with a receiver attempting to catch an airborne kick. The prohibited contact in this case went well beyond simply interfering with the receiver. Instead, by striking your defenseless opponent in the head and neck area, you committed an unnecessary and unnecessarily dangerous act that is specifically prohibited by the rules.
"... Your actions are of particular concern in light of the emphasis that our office has placed on developing and enforcing rules designed to protect players from injury, including head and neck injuries. The safety of our players is paramount to all of us in the NFL."
Wesley was ejected from the game for the hit.
By
Mark Maske
|
October 19, 2009; 8:56 PM ET
| Category:
Buccaneers
,
League
,
Panthers
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