Nobody likes to see players receive fines under suspect circumstances, but that’s precisely what happened to Las Vegas Raiders guard Gabe Jackson after getting ejected in the team’s Week 7 matchup against the Tampa Bay Bay Buccaneers. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t think too much about it, as bad as the decision was.
The Raiders can’t do much and neither can we
However you look at it, the Raiders’ loss against the Buccaneers left a bad taste in fans’ mouths. Their defense was no doubt bad, but what made Raider Nation really punch their television was Jackson’s ejection. Had the situation called for it, most rational people would accept it, but that wasn’t the case. Video evidence showed no foul, but referee Scott Novak said that Jackson stepped on a player’s shoulders, an action worth an ejection in the ‘zebras’ eyes.
Let’s take Novak’s word and say ’66’ indeed stepped on someone’s shoulder. What can fans do? Not much other than just accept it and move on. Now, if the referee made a mistake, the NFL Referee Union should hold him accountable, but other than that, there’s not much we can do. You can complain about it, you can say the league is after the Raiders, but will that really change things?
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We need to move on
We aren’t trying to downplay the issue either. After all, Jackson received a $12,500 fine and nobody likes to lose money. Especially if they didn’t do anything wrong, but if that’s the case, the Raiders guard can appeal the fine through the appropriate channels. Other than that, we just have to chill and take this one in stride. In the worst-case scenario, it was a poor job by Novak, but that’s it.
The NFL isn’t trying to bring down the Raiders, no one is carrying a vendetta, nobody is holding a grudge towards the Raiders. Those ‘Raiders vs the rest of the NFL’ days have been over for a while, and there is no evidence the league is going after them. While we don’t like to see Jackson get fined, there are more pressing things. Beating the Cleveland Browns in Week 8 should be first and foremost.
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Top Photo: Tony Avelar/Associated Press