The NFL’s controversial hip-drop tackles have a staunch defender: the NFLPA.
Throughout a press convention on Wednesday, gamers on the gamers’ affiliation government committee spoke on numerous matters in regards to the league, and the hip-drop sort out — when a participant makes use of their physique weight on the legs of the ball service by main along with his hip — was amongst these mentioned.
Chargers star working again Austin Ekeler went so far as to say that if the NFL banned the kind of sort out, that it will be “detrimental” to the game.
“Yeah, I believe it actually compromises the standard of the sport on a number of ranges,” Ekeler stated, per The Athletic. “Simply the officers and that you just’re placing one other grey space name for them. ‘Was that, or was it not?’ After which it’s a 15-yard penalty, however possibly it was, and possibly it wasn’t. And are their fines related to it?. … It’s a part of soccer.
“Like, you’re tackling folks, there’s your physique’s going to get twisted and turned everywhere and it’s since you form of simply, you lay out and also you exit at full velocity, each guys going with a number of power. So, I believe it’s actually detrimental to the sport in the event that they attempt to go ahead with this.”
Ekeler’s feedback come after some — together with retired Australian rugby nice and Fox League knowledgeable Matty Johns — referred to as for the NFL to ban the hip-drop sort out after it was put underneath the microscope following numerous accidents.
Notably, Ravens tight finish Mark Andrews suffered an ankle harm in Week 11 when Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson took him down with a hip-drop sort out.
Andrews missed the remainder of the common season however did make a return to the Baltimore lineup for the AFC title recreation.
Even earlier than the Andrews harm, the NFL in October stated it was exploring banning the controversial sort out, the Related Press reported then.
However Falcons defensive finish Calais Campbell, who can also be on the manager committee, questioned how the league would even go about really stopping the sort out or what the means can be to really implement it.
“I don’t perceive how one can police it the best method and permit us to do our job,” Campbell stated, per ESPN. “On the finish of the day, it’s like, how do you sort out a man?”