Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh avoided suspension on Monday for kicking Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schuab in the groin.
The NFL reviewed the tape of Suh from the Thanksgiving game between the Lions and Texans and decided that intent could not be seen in the video, so a suspension was not warranted. Suh was being brought down by an offensive lineman near Schuab when his leg came swinging down near the quarterback's groin area.
"Our office has notified the Lions that Ndamukong Suh will not be suspended for last Thursday's incident," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement. "It will be reviewed for a potential fine."
Last Thanksgiving Suh was ejected from Detroit's game ahgaisnt the Packers for stomping on the arm of offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith and was suspended for two games.
Suh said last year that the stomping incident was not intentional and did not talk to reporters following this season's Thanksgiving game.
Following the game, Schuab was asked if he thought the actions by Suh were intentional and told reporters: "I really don't have anything to say about that play or that person," according to ESPN.com.
This season Suh has 20 tackles and 4.5 sacks to go along with one pass defended. Against Houston on Thanksgiving he didn't register a tackle. Last season he put up similar numbers of 36 tackles and 4.0 sacks.
On Monday, Schuab spoke in a radio interview about the incident and answered a question on whether he would want Suh on his team.
"You don't want a player like that. The stuff that he stands for and the type of player he is, that's not Houston Texan-worthy," Schaub said, according to ESPN.com. "That's not what we're about as a football team, as individuals, collectively as a group, we're not that type of person."
"Something's gotta happen," Texans offensive lineman Duane Brown told the Houston Chronicle. "It's a lot going on over and over again. We're not allowed to do anything about it as players. No flag's being thrown. Something has to happen eventually for him to learn that's not going to be acceptable."
Prior to the Thanksgiving game, Suh spoke to ESPN The Magazine in an interview and said that he had begun to change his ways.
"People want to say, 'We did a poll with 100 players out of 1,800 in the league who say you're dirty.' Do I really care? No. Now, if you got 1,800 out of 1,800 who said I'm dirty, would I care then? Nope. If you find my aggressive and dominating play dirty, then that's your opinion. But I would assume most people want someone who is going to do anything and everything within the lines to win for their team, because I know I would," said Suh
Just as news came down about Suh avoiding the suspension, Fox 2 News in Detroit reported that Suh was pulled over in mid-November for reckless driving, which would be his second incident in two months this season.
According to the report, an officer saw Suh's car speeding and passing cars on the road and almost hit another car. The same report also said that the local chief would be looking at the incident, due to the aggressive nature of the officer writing tickets.
"The charges that were issued on the ticket, we're looking to make sure the charges fit," said Lathrup Village Police Chief William Armstrong. "Quite frankly, the way that the ticket was written I don't necessarily agree with, but if the city attorney agrees, it would go forward as it's written."
Along with his antics on the field, Suh has been involved in at least four traffic incidents in the past two years, including being involved in a hit and run incident in early October where he sideswiped a local resident near the Lions practice facility and drove away.
According to My Fox Detroit, "Vines was on his way into work about 6:20 a.m. Thursday when he and other drivers merged on the Rotunda ramp along the southbound Southfield. He said the driver behind him in a black Range Rover sped around him and sideswiped his car. They stopped at the light. Vines got out of his Escort and the other driver, whose taillights were damaged, started yelling."
"I drove across almost the entire continent this summer with no issues. It's always gonna be, I'm an African-American guy who's rich with a nice car and I sideswiped somebody who has a Ford Escort, or whatever it might be, and I'm gonna be the bad guy," said Suh to the Magazine.
Last year while he as suspended for stomping, Suh got into a one-car accident while home in Oregon.
According to the Seattle Times from December 2011: "He wasn't drunk and wasn't driving crazy or anything. He wasn't a jerk," said Sgt. Peter Simpson of the Portland Police Bureau. "I think he stomped on the gas when he was going around a taxi and lost the back end, spun around and hit a tree and a light pole and a (drinking) fountain. No injuries to anybody and he didn't hit any other cars."
Suh has proven to be a skilled player, but one with some anger issues. The defensive tackle even had issues with anger dating back to his time playing college at Nebraska.
Last year Matt Slauson, offensive lineman for the New York Jets and a former teammate of Suh's in college, was quoted as saying in 2011: "He was well-respected for his ability, but everybody kind of knew who he was," Slauson said. "He wasn't well-liked. I don't know if he's got a screw loose or if he's trying to make himself the villain, but whatever he's doing is wrong and it's got to be fixed."
Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press wrote about Suh on Tuesday:
"Suh remains one of the most puzzling, contradictory personalities in Detroit sports history. He's intelligent, articulate. He has an engineering degree from Nebraska. On many levels, Suh's what you want all athletes to use as a blueprint," he writes. "But he's also annoyingly arrogant and capricious. Suh still believes that the NFL must change to how he plays because the league's never before experienced his combination of size and speed."
The Lions drafted Suh with the No. 2 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and signed him to a five-year, $60 million contract. During his rookie season, Suh put up great numbers, registering 66 tackles and 10 sacks.
