Times wires
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL will punish teams next season if their players commit multiple flagrant hits that result in fines.
The punishment will be financial, although league vice president Adolpho Birch said Tuesday he didn't rule out commissioner Roger Goodell applying further sanctions such as stripping clubs of draft choices.
Citing "club accountability," Birch said details such as the amount of the fines against clubs, or how many player fines would trigger punishment, have not been determined.
"As a club's total increases to a certain threshold, we will enforce some … payback to encourage clubs to stay below that threshold," Birch said. "We're looking at a system similar to one we instituted a couple years ago with off-field conduct."
The NFL began a crackdown on illegal hits, particularly to defenseless players, in October. It threatened suspensions, but no players sat out games. However, Ray Anderson, the league's chief disciplinarian, has said suspensions will be considered for egregious hits this season.
Now, clubs as well as the players are being put on notice that illegal hits will result in substantial discipline.
The 32 owners voted unanimously to approve rules amendments for player safety, including a measure aimed at keeping a player from launching himself into a defenseless opponent. A 15-yard penalty will result for anyone who leaves both feet before contact to spring forward and upward into an opponent and delivers a blow to the helmet with any part of his helmet.
MANNING HAS SURGERY: Colts quarterback Peyton Manning had neck surgery Monday in Chicago to repair a disc problem. It's the second neck surgery since February 2010 for Manning. The previous was to repair a pinched nerve, and this operation was less invasive and less complicated, owner Jim Irsay said.
TORNADO AID: The Chiefs filled two semitrailer trucks with bottled water for tornado victims in Kansas and Missouri and also collected financial donations for the victims in Reading, Kan., and Joplin, Mo. The team is donating $35,000 to the relief effort.
FUNds WITHHELD: The Bills suspended payments to employees' pension benefits and 401(k) plans during the labor dispute, potentially the rest of the year.