Plenty of people in and around the NFL are weighing in on the Myles Garrett-Mason Rudolph incident that occurred on “Thursday Night Football.”
Vontaze Burfict is one of them.
The Oakland Raiders linebacker is no stranger to suspensions, having been handed four of them in his eight-year NFL career. Burfict is suspended for the remainder of the season after delivering a brutal helmet-to-helmet hit to Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle on Sept. 29.
So, naturally, Burfict has some thoughts about Garrett’s indefinite suspension (which will last for the rest of the season, including the postseason, at minimum) for bashing the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback in the head with his own helmet. And he cited one key difference between the plays that have them on the sideline.
“The NFL had to suspend somebody for that last night, since that wasn’t a football act,” Burfict told The Athletic on Friday. “My suspension was a football act. I was hitting somebody. I wasn’t taking a helmet off and swinging it at somebody.”
Burfict and his daughters tuned in to Thursday night’s game, but the 29-year-old turned it off shortly after watching the gruesome play. He was both disgusted and frustrated by what he’d witnessed.
“I don’t want them (his daughters) to see that. Because that’s not what I do. That’s not part of football,” Burfict said. “I hit people on the field during the game. And they say that’s dirty, yeah, whatever. I get hit, too, during the games, so don’t complain. It’s football, bro.”
Garrett is appealing his suspension.
