It was announced on Monday that the NFL will suspend Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson for one game without pay, for his flagrant and repeated violation of the league’s safety rules.
Goldson was penalized for Sunday’s hit on New Orleans Saints running back Darren Sproles – his fifth violation for unnecessary roughness since 2011. The rule Goldson violated prohibits hits to the head and neck area of defenseless players.
In the suspension letter to Goldson, NFL’s vice president of football operations wrote:
“You had an unobstructed path to your opponent. It is clear that you lowered your head and unnecessarily rammed the left side of your helmet into the left side of your opponent’s head. You delivered a forceful blow with your helmet and made no attempt whatsoever to wrap up your opponent or make a conventional tackle on the play. This illegal contact clearly could have been avoided.”
This violation will cost Goldson a hefty $264,706, which is a big chunk of his $4.5 million base salary.
