The Media is Turning Dante Wesley Into a Villain

(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Most NFL fans—unless you're a Carolina Panther fan—didn't know the name of Dante Wesley until today. There was a play that happened with less than 20 seconds left in the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which ultimately got Wesley ejected from the game.

The hit itself was monstrous. Leading with his shoulder, he hit Clifton Smith high, which knocked him out just under a minute. Smith was diagnosed with a concussion due to the result of the play.

Now the question comes how will the NFL rule against Wesley, because there's no question he deserved to be ejected for the hit. Was it a dangerous play even if—as he claims—he mistimed the play? Absolutey.

Yet, what hurts his cause is the officials got the penalty wrong. It was not fair catch interference on Wesley, it was interfering with the punt returner from catching the football.

There's no halo rule in the NFL anymore, meaning that as soon as the ball is caught the returner can be hit.

I've watched the clip of the hit as it was shown on Fox, and here's the link to the hit. It shows the play from all angles, and there was no fair catch being signaled for.

At the beginning of the clip until about five or six seconds into it you may see the hand come up to signal for it, but on every other angle of the play there is no fair catch being signaled.

I can see the argument from Wesley that he did not see the returner signal for a fair catch and that he mistimed it. The question, though, is why did he leave his feet and why did he go so high on the hit?

Those questions must be answered by Wesley, and looking at any rationale on the play there's really no reason for what he did. Wesley does deserve a big fine and a suspension for a game, but anything more than a one-game suspension is going overboard.

It's the media response on the hit that is going to hurt Wesley the most. The hit will be replayed over and over again, making Wesley look like a villain. I see it as a major mistake that deserves punishment.

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