Sad news = Steelers safety is suspended for the rest of season due to…..
The NFL has suspended Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damonte Kazee for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Kazee committed “repeated breaches” of health and safety regulations
Especially when he hit Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr
on Saturday
In a letter to Kazee, NFL Vice President of Football Operations John Runyan wrote: “With 8 minutes and seconds
remaining in the second quarter, you are aware that the league has issued a critical game rule
He was involved in a play that would be considered a violation.
Video of the game shows you delivering a hard blow to the head/neck area of Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr
who was in a vulnerable position.
The path to the other party was unobstructed and illegal contact could have been avoided
Your actions were flagrant and as a result you have been expelled from the game
If a player repeatedly violates rules designed to protect player safety, especially if those violations involve a significant risk of injury, Runyan said Kazee would be banned from hitting in the NFL.
He was suspended for violating the rules, but the suspension applies to the Steelers’ remaining regular-season games
and all potential playoff games
The head and neck of a defenseless player
From the NFL: _ “Rule 12, Rule 2, Section 9(b)(1)” states that a player “must not be allowed to hit the head forcefully or forcefully hit the head while defenseless with a helmet or facemask
It is a foul if you do so
Player’s neck area, forearm, or shoulder
Even if the initial contact occurs below the player’s neck, it does not matter whether the defending player uses his arms to surround or grab the defenseless player and attack him
9(a)(3) further explains that a player in a vulnerable position includes a “player attempting to catch a pass who clearly has not yet had time to become a runner
Rule 12, Section 2, Law 9 also states that A player who makes contact with a defenseless opponent has a responsibility to avoid illegal conduct
Regardless, strict liability applies to any contact with the other party
like Kazee has been fined five times this season for various unnecessary roughness violations, totaling $59,030
