Tuesday it was announced that Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh would be suspended for two games following his stomping incident on Green Bay’s Evan Dietrich-Smith this past Thanksgiving. In addition to the suspension, Suh will not be paid for the time he is missing and cannot practice with the team until he is officially reinstated by the NFL on Monday, December 12th.
It was also later announced that Ndamukong Suh, under the direction of the NFLPA and commissioner Roger Goodell (who handed down the suspension) would go in front of Art Shell of the NFL to appeal the suspension.
Now there are plenty of questions surrounding why Suh would appeal and why Roger Goodell would encourage Suh to appeal the suspension? First off Ndamukong Suh really has nothing to lose if he appeals. Worst case scenario is the suspension doesn’t get reduced and he goes about his business from there on out. Best case scenario is he get’s best games wiped out and he plays this weekend against the New Orleans Saints.
In short he has to try to see what he can get out of the appeals process.
Second off, there is some confusion as to why Roger Goodell would encourage Suh to appeal a suspension handed down by Goodell himself. Now the only possible explanation I can give for this is Goodell may have become more personable with Suh after their meeting a few weeks ago in New York. Goodell couldn’t simply told Suh that he believes that he should be suspended for two games however if he would like to have a second viewpoint on the incident then take it up with Art Shell and the appeals process.
What’s important though at this point though for the Lions and their fans is to try to put a positive spin on this whole situation. First off if Suh’s suspension does indeed hold up than it potentially will give the team a better look at first round draft pick Nick Fairley.
Second, Suh is a young player that has tremendous potential and upside but still has maturing to do. With that said it’s good that the Lions are getting the opportunity to address the situation now rather than later when it can potentially get worse.
Finally, I mentioned the term maturing and hopefully after this whole experience is over with, Suh will come back as a better and smarter player on the field.
The bottom line is there is no justifying what Suh did and there is not denying the fact that he should be suspended for what happened. The opposition can try to manipulate the situation all they want but in the end he purposefully drove an opposing players head into the ground and stomped on their arm, which has no place in the current NFL. Yes, football is a rough sport, it’s a violent sport and in some cases it’s a dirty sport, which is okay. However a line has to be drawn somewhere and Suh certainly overstepped it last Thursday.
I have confidence and faith in Suh and the Lions organization that it can and will be corrected.
Ref: ESPN, Twitter, inquisitr.com