The NFL is not too happy with Brandon Meriweather. Not only are league officials suspending the Washington Redskins safety for two games, but players are lashing out against him as well. Meriweather continues to violate player safety rules with helmet-to-helmet hits, leaving his reputation to take a free fall.
The suspension of Meriweather comes after the safety placed two illegal hits on Chicago Bears wide receivers, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. He was flagged for both hits despite claiming they were within the rules. Meriweather went on to say that with all the rules changing in regards to where defenders can hit players, he is not sure what is legal and what is not. Bears tight end Martellus Bennett is sick of the safety's ways and calling him out on it.
"He's a scumbag," Bennett told The Boers and Bernstein Show. "I still want to punch him in the face." "What it comes down to, at the end of the day, the players have got to look out for the players," Bennett said. "There's a way to go out there and be a beast when you hit people, and have nobody want to come across the middle. But then there's a way not to do it, where you're deliberately hitting guys [high] or after the game you're saying, 'Oh, I've got to pay,' because you know what you did was wrong when you were doing it. Then it just becomes wrong."
Bennett is not the only one speaking out against the safety. Marshall who was victim to one of Meriweather's hits believes the safety should get kicked out of the league. The wide receiver understands the defender is trying to make a play for his team, but is stressing that rules are rules and he does not feel safe anymore.
"Guys like that really don't understand that there is life after football," Marshall said, via the Chicago Tribune. "I respect the league trying to better our game and guys like that, maybe he needs to get suspended or taken out of the game completely."
Meriweather laughed off the suspension to the Associated Press. The safety simply said, "Anybody else want to chip in on my dinner? I can't afford it right now." The safety has three days to appeal and ESPN is reporting he already filed for one. Dashon Goldson won a one-game suspension appeal earlier in the year and simply just paid a fine. Ed Reed won an appeal last season and had his fine reduced. Given Meriweather's history with illegal hits, winning the appeal will be tough.
