On Thursday night, Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett did the unthinkable when he tore the helmet off Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and hit him in the head with it.
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Browns DE Myles Garrett hits Steelers QB Mason Rudolph in head with own helmet [Video]
For his actions, Garrett has been suspended indefinitely.
On Friday, Detroit Lions defenders Jahlani Tavai and Mike Daniels were asked about what Garrett did and rather than bashing him as many NFL players have, both came to his defense more than anything.
From Sports Illustrated:
“Of course you are not going to want to hit someone over the head with a helmet. There are so many points of view that anybody can say out of it. We all saw what Rudolph did but the bigger picture everybody saw the helmet flying.”
“I hope I don't find myself in that situation. Sometimes you are on the field, he (Garrett) has that switch that can be flipped. If somebody went after me, I would probably defend myself. Granted, he is probably three times bigger than Rudolph so it looks even more dangerous,” said Tavai.
Tavai also expressed that he hopes the league does not view Garrett as a “terrible guy” when evaluating the length of the suspension since Garrett appears to be a calm guy in the media, he has a clean record on and off the field and incidents like what occurred Thursday “happen in the game of football.”
Defensive tackle Mike Daniels stated, “Football is a game of emotions. You have to make sure your emotions, that you check them. I am sure he didn't expect the quarterback to try and rip his helmet off and kick him in his private parts – and he snapped. Most people would probably react that way if they got hit in their you know. It just was an ugly situation all they way around. It was crazy. Everybody involved just has to try and manage their emotions.”
Though Tavai and Daniels did not flat out say what Garrett did was ok, they sure did not seem to think it was that big a deal.
Nation, do you agree with Tavai and Daniels?