By now, unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know about the situation that happened between Jalen Ramsey and AJ Green that led to both players getting ejected from the Jaguars 23-7 victory over the Bengals on Sunday. Jalen Ramsey was clearly the aggressor in the situation, as he shoved AJ Green to the ground, but Green's response was the most egregious moment of the entire kerfuffle. After getting up off the ground Green proceeded to put Ramsey in a choke hold from behind and then began to throw punches at the helmet (smart) of Jalen Ramsey.
Ramsey instigated the situation and clearly got under the skin of the normally quiet and mild mannered AJ Green. For his part in the altercation Ramsey deserved a 15 yard penalty. He did not, however, deserve to be ejected from the game. That was my opinion and the opinion of every Jaguars fan, player, and beat writer that I've seen. Now, our opinion on the matter has been validated. Dean Blandino and Mike Pereira, two rules experts that were once the heads of NFL officiating, both agree that Ramsey should not have been ejected. Here's what Pereira said in a tweet regarding the situation:
The fact that two rules experts believe Ramsey should not have been ejected doesn't help the Jaguars at all. It also doesn't remove the stain of the ejection from Jalen Ramsey's resume. But it can provide some validation for everyone involved in the situation, and perhaps will help to diminish Ramsey's growing reputation as someone who takes things a little too far. |
