The gruesome showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13 left both teams battered and bruised. Two of the most prominent players on each defense were even forced to leave the game early while another two were handed down suspensions.
Among the latter was rookie wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, whose one-game suspension was upheld following his appeal. Needless to say, Steelers safety Mike Mitchell was extremely unhappy about it, having going on a passionate rant regarding the current state of professional football.
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler:
“Just hand us all some flags. Hand us all some flags, and we'll go out there and try to grab the flags off. Because we're not playing football,” said Mitchell on Wednesday from his locker. “This is not damn football. When I was 6 years old watching Charles Woodson, Rod Woodson, Sean Taylor, the hitters, Jack Tatum. That's football. This ain't football. You have to know the risk when you sign up. No one wants to be paralyzed. No one wants to have head injuries. These are all things that are negative. But let's not try to turn football into a dangerous, barbaric game.
“This is how I changed my family legacy. Before I got drafted, I had $368 to my bank account. That is far from the case today. I've changed my family legacy by this beautiful game of football forever. So let's not try to turn this into some evil, dirty game. It's football. It's no different than UFC fighting. This a combat, contact sport. There's gonna be injuries. That's just what it is. But if you don't want to get injured, don't come out here. This is for real men. This is a man's game. Ray Lewis said that a couple of years ago, and I stand by that. It's a man's game. If you don't want to be a little kid and get your ass hit, don't come out here. This is for grown men. Straight like that.”
Meanwhile, the NFL has since overturned the one-game suspension that was also initially given to Bengals safety George Iloka for his hit on superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown. However, that is not the most controversial aspect of this whole ordeal.
Smith-Schuster will now have to serve the same punishment as New England Patriots superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski, whose blatant cheap shot on Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious was, by far, the dirtiest hit the league has seen all year. It just leaves further confusion as to what the NFL's guidelines are for suspension-worthy hits.
The league has notably taken precautions in recent years to help protect their players, however, the rules are mostly favored for those on offense. As a result, defensive players are often the ones that get the short end of the stick.
There is no doubt that the league is going through a major transition. What makes Mitchell's comments so intriguing is that he has continued to preach physicality for the game despite the severity of teammate Ryan Shazier's devastating injury. It appears many of his colleagues throughout the NFL may feel the same.
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