Raheem Brock was fined by the NFL for a low hit on Ben Roethlisberger during Sunday's matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers. Brock caught Roethlisberger below the legs just after the Steelers quarterback released the ball, leaving him crumpled on the ground in pain. Though Roethlisberger returned after sitting a few plays out, and avoided serious injury, Brock fell victim to the "Brady Rule," and was punished as a result.
But the punishment wasn't fair, nor was it right. As we explained earlier, the hit was incidental, and far from malicious. In fact, Brock's hit wasn't intentional at all. As he put a spin move on the Steelers' right tackle, Brock was tripped, and sent toppling over into Roethlisberger's legs.
Here's what Brock had to say when announcing his own suspension.
Fined by the NFL today for being "TRIPPED" by an o'lineman and fallin into the QB's legs! Smh if I only had super powers to stop mid air
We examined the play earlier, and this photo shows what happened right before Brock hit Roethlisberger.
Read the rest of our case against Brock being fined, which is moot now, here.
For now, that's it for Brock. Hopefully, though, he'll be able to appeal the fine, with this photo and the video of the incident serving as evidence. Protecting the quarterback is obviously a priority in the NFL, but this is simply going too far, and it's not right for Brock to be punished for something he simply couldn't avoid.
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