Dante Wesley Ejected After Hit Causes Brawl in Panthers-Bucs Game

No, a fine and a four game suspension would get the message across.

Am I missing something? If the punt returner didn't call fair catch what is the problem? He did not hit him with his helmet, and he did not make helmet to helmet contact. If you don't want to get hit, call fair catch. That's why the rule was put in.

How many times do you see a punt returner tee off on a wedge buster in order to keep him from getting to the ball before it rolls in for a touch back?

So what's the difference here?

It's football. not flag football. tackle football.

can't hit the QB in the head. can't hit the QB below the knees. can't hit the punt returner even if he does not call fair catch.

good grief.

For the record i did both punt return and kick return in college, high school, and pop warner so I know what it feels like to get hit.

It's football! He got there a little early that's all. If you can't play with the big dogs stay on the porch!

For a Professor, Mr. Wright, you don't notice much. The guy got leveled WAY BEFORE the punt ever got anywhere close to him. He didn't need to signal fair catch yet becasue he wasn't allowed to be hit yet. They're required to give him a chance to field the ball, and the ball hadn't gotten to him yet.

Dude, you can not hit a punt returner until he has the ball, fair catch or not...... that was illegal!

The Return man never signaled for a fair catch. That makes him a blocker. The recieving team doesn't have to field the return.

That means he was a blocker and he should have kept his head up.

It wasn't cool that he layed him out so bad, but it really wasn't the defender fault.

If the Return guy had really meant to catch the ball he should have signaled for a fair catch long before that.

He didn't even come close to catching the ball before he got hit. All of you on here saying it's just football and don't play with the big dogs obviously have never played football on any level. Just stay on your couch and eat more chips.
have a nice day! :)

The lack of knowledge of NFL rules by some of the people here is comical. Not calling for a fair catch is irrelevant - a fair catch call means the coverage can't hit you AFTER you catch the ball. The rules clearly state you can't hit a guy who's trying to field the punt. And for whomever said he didn't go for the head, watch the replay again - if he was just trying to tackle the guy and his timing was off, he wouldn't have raised up and put his shoulder pad right under the facemask. For those who say "it's no different than a linebacker hitting a receiver over the middle", you are right - if a LB hits a receiver like that before the ball arrives, he'd be ejected as well. It was a dangerous play, the ejection was justified, and so will be the fine.

If the return man does not call for a fair catch the defender must give him room to field the kick before making contact. That hit was total bush league. Any of morons saying it is "part of the game" need to educate yourself on the rules.

Oh, and he also launched himself at the players head which is another violation.

So, if you mess up at your job, with your logic you should be fired as well? Please... He screwed up and will be dealt with within the league. Same ol' story. The only thing he did right was not lead with his healmet. Leaving his feet was what did it.

y2dmj- im beginning to question your football knowledge...if a linebacker hits a WR before the ball gets there he gets a PI and maybe a 15 yard personal foul. He is certainly not ejected. This is not a powder-puff sport. people are gonna get hit, people are gonna get hurt. That hit was illegal and uncalled for, but everyone needs no calm down and actually watch a football game but commenting. Huge hits like this happen in every game, from pee wee to the pros to the celebrity game with all the retired players. If you want a soft sport...watch soccer

The bottom line is that it was a bad hit and he should be fined and suspended.

Yes but it was cheap because you can't hit someone especially a punt returner if the ball hasn't even gotten to him yet it's plain and simple Cheap shot im down for big hits but not for crap like that... And behumanist read the rule book under kick returns / punt returns Can't touch a returner unless the ball touoches him then he is fair game. As well as it wasn't a simple tackle he aimed to knock him out.

he didnt call for the fair catch but if you watch the clip you would know it wasn't legal. he hit him before the football had gotten to him, which is illegal. however, i do believe he just made a stupid mistake and shouldnt be fined too much as his salary is probably not as big as someone like ray lewis who was just fined.

HAHA wright, you don't know what it's like to get hit by an NFL player that big running that fast, with you having no clue in the world that he's about to crush you. It was dirty, plain and simple. The NFL rules and regulations support this.

To the so called "Professor", look closely. First. No, he didn't call for a fair catch, but the opposing team cannot make contact until the returner has made contact with the ball. Second. It was a cheap shot as he hit him BEFORE ball contact and put his shoulder into the face mask. Legal blow? Yes. Shouldn't be. Could have been a career ending head blow. If you can't hit the QB that way, then that's the way it should be for all players.

Pro Athletes make mistakes in physical judgements...he was trying to time something, and it didn't work out by a second...i don't think he did it on purpose...it shouldn't be a fineable play when considering what actually took place. However, it was a mess up, and unfortunate. suspensions? no.

Fair Catch interference........is what was called. Therefore, he signaled for "Fair Catch". That MORON should be thrown out of football altogether..........that was dirty......what a scumball.............

get real, he was making a fair play ,