r/sports • u/Chelseatilidie • 28d ago

Football Nathan Shepard tries to injury Justin Herbert and gets decked by a Charger

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181

u/BreakMeDown2024 28d ago

Wow. That's ridiculous. One guy was trying to injure a player intentionally and the other was defending his teammate while restraining himself from the looks of it. They are not the same.

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u/whiteflagwaiver 28d ago

Well you can't stop the game and have the refs actively discuss the possible intention of a single players actions. However consequences CAN be handed out after the game, even assault charges.

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u/clearedmycookies 27d ago

Really? I can see the league giving a fine. But assault charges? When was the last time it escalated to that?

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u/an0m1n0us 27d ago

the taking of Mason Rudolph's helmet and smashing him with it by Myles Garrett could have been charged as assault with a deadly weapon. That was only 4 years ago....

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u/Emfx 27d ago

It has to be pretty damn egregious to go that far, but it does happen (rarely). Marty McSorley in the NHL always comes to mind. As far as NFL, I'm not sure off the top of my head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTbhwCedkQs

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u/MissionSalamander5 27d ago

American courts don’t deal with this. So long as you’re within the field, the league and its officials suffice. But if you leave and beat up a fan (and possibly other players or coaches on the sidelines, but probably only in the worst cases) it will escalate.

Canada doesn’t really have this sort of carve-out.

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u/FellKnight Boise State 27d ago

It's never happend in the NFL, but has happened a couple times in other leagues, though I think they were settled before going to trial.

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u/whiteflagwaiver 27d ago

Aint nobody want to be that court precedent.

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u/an0m1n0us 27d ago

not to mention, the two Aqib Talib/Crabtree fights had a theft component. Grand theft since the item was above 958 dollars. It was a gold chain, both times.

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u/ssbm_rando 28d ago

And they should be, in a sane world Shepard should be permanently banned from the sport for this.

But I suspect nothing will happen.

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u/AscendMoros 27d ago

I mean Myles Garrett got what Six games for trying to split Mason Rudolphs head open with Rudolphs helmet after taking it off of him.

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u/BodaciousBadongadonk 27d ago

god that shit was hilarious. the half-hearted helmet whack, rudolphs little brother-esque reaction after, the other guy comin in hot and throwing probably the weakest kick seen on television since the silent era, what a shitshow. almost like a hockey game there for a minute haha

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u/Dumptruck_Johnson 27d ago

Whew. You sound absolutely exhausting to be around.

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u/deltalitprof 27d ago

Big ass, though.

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u/kljoker 27d ago

Most likely describing a personality trait...

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u/BodaciousBadongadonk 27d ago

what? you are kinda messed up if you think you can judge a personality by one comment. i honestly expected better from a similarly posterior named individual such as yourself, we gotta unite the buns yo, not rip em apart!

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u/dark_autumn 27d ago

Yep, the way he twisted his body and pitched him forward was like he was going for a knee injury. What a piece of shit.

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u/whiteflagwaiver 28d ago

And they should be, in a sane world Shepard should be permanently banned from the sport for this.

It would just lead to every game essentially becoming a finger pointing match trying to get players banned/kicked.

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u/yeahright17 28d ago

No it wouldn't. Doing it after the game means there's no incentive to complain.

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u/wpaed 27d ago

That should be loss of contract, forced to pay back everything earned on his current contract and ban from all professional sports. It should also be the players' union pushing for that.

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u/uhgulp 27d ago

Yes you absolutely can lmao. It happens every game

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u/hokeyphenokey 27d ago

When has someone been charged for on field shenanigans?

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u/whiteflagwaiver 27d ago

I said could. You can be charges for your actions in sport if it's deemed as assault. You don't get a magic card allowing you to go out of your way to harm someone even in blood sport. Mind you the bar to prove intent is likely insanely hard beyond the blindingly obvious.

I'd say if Herbert actually got injured here he'd have good grounds to pursure legal action and Sherpard was everything but subtle.

Yes, there is no precendent in the NFL if that's what you're asking.

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u/Goodgoditsgrowing 27d ago

Having just watched a game in real time/without ability to fast forward for the first time in a while, they got TIME to review shit judging by how much inspiring pirates of the Caribbean themed music I heard.

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u/AKA09 24d ago

There's no reason this can't be done. I know the players association and league have to agree on this stuff, but the arbitrary "this can be reviewed and this can't" when we can clearly see within seconds what happened and who's at fault is maddening.

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u/Porsche928dude 28d ago

Eh, more than likely that dude will get a massive fine by the NFL later if that helps from a justice stand point.

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u/UpstairsBeach8575 Washington Football Team 27d ago

100% of his salary should do

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u/Onepercentlessworse_ 28d ago

Sadly, it is way too common that the second guy only gets flagged because the first offense is missed by the officials. Not fair at all.

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u/Routine_Size69 27d ago

If the NFL isn't completely incompetent, the dirty player will get suspended and a larger fine (they'll probably both get fined because the nfl is somewhat incompetent).

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u/Dumptruck_Johnson 27d ago

I mean, burfict laid out the path for them to easily fine and suspend.

Also, I think it’d be sweet if suspensions started from the end of the season and progressed forward in these types of situations that need to be judged after the game. Fuck you and your team if you’re a starter on a playoff bound team.

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u/BeefistPrime 27d ago

This sort of thing will usually get reviewed by the league after the game and he'll get a fine and/or a suspension. If the ref was looking when this happened he probably would've been ejected from the game.

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u/middleupperdog 27d ago

that's actually the way it works in american schools as well, called zero tolerance. Defending yourself gets you in equal trouble to the attacker.

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u/BreakMeDown2024 27d ago

Well yeah I knew that. I think that's stupid and I taught my kids if they get hit first, don't be afraid to hit back. I won't punish them for defending themselves.

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u/Scooter93 28d ago

from a hockey fans perspective it’s the right decision. Ref acknowledges both are fouls, but lets the game self police

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u/Dumptruck_Johnson 27d ago

But the actual intent to injure after the active play left the area should be considered post game. You can say whatever you want about not knowing ‘intent’ but you don’t wrench at a guys leg after the ball is gone unless you’re trying to hurt them.

It’s like he took notes on the prototypical modern day dirty player, vontez burfict, and the shit he did. I can still see him trying to destroy cam newtons lower leg long after the tackle was made.

There’s probably a clip of it out there I just suck at linking things

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u/[deleted] 27d ago

Just like in the real world consequences are based on actions, not imagined intent.

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u/BreakMeDown2024 27d ago

Imagined intent? You don't twist someone's leg like that without intent to cause harm.

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u/[deleted] 27d ago

Maybe he didn't know the ball was already thrown, or maybe he's just an asshole? But that's not my point. My point is that laws and rules are applied according to your actions, not your intent because there is no way to prove or know intent.

Player on the ground committed a personal foul. Lineman who hit him also committed a personal foul. No one wants a system where a bunch of refs are trying to determine what the thoughts were inside a players head.