Quote:
Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed
Like I've said, EVERY PIECE of evidence, other then the video, suggests that the whole thing was completely accidental. Wideman's reaction to the whole thing is most key. Wideman would have acted differently had the true story been anything other than he explained it immediately after the game last Wednesday.
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In my view, this incident was actually two incidents.
The first is their coming together. Wideman was clearly dazed/concussed. He slowly makes his way to the bench and does not alter trajectory in any way. That indicates to me that he was likely being truthful in saying he wasn't paying attention and didn't see Henderson until too late. That part of the thing could easily be called incidental/accidental, and that is probably what people are basing their defence of Wideman on.
But for me, the second half is the crosscheck/shove. We can't guess to Wideman's thinking - whether it was reactionary, or whether in a fit of confusion or frustration or anger that he decided to just shove whatever this body that suddenly appeared in his path out of his way, but he did it. It was a linesman. The linesman was injured by the hit.
I figured 10 games would have been a good number, but if Campbell viewed that push as a deliberate action against the linesman, then 20 is the appropriate punishment. Disappointing, but it is what it is.