On Monday, the NFL issued a 1-game suspension to Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson for a vicious, helmet-to-helmet hit on New Orleans Saints running back Darren Sproles. Now, all ears are pointed toward New York, as one report indicates that the NFL will rule on a potential appeal on Wednesday.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is reporting that a league source indicates that an appeal decision will be handed down on Wednesday in enough time to provide Tampa Bay with enough preparation for Week 3. This is in slight contrast to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday citing that Goldson wanted his appeal expedited for Tuesday, but at this point, it would be a mild surprise to see anything later than midday on Wednesday.
Multiple reports indicate that either Matt Birk or Ted Cottrell will be the ruling factor in the case, and they’ll be weighing a large body of work with regard to illegal plays from Goldson. In the past, players with this type of “rap sheet” (see Harrison, Rodney) have been punished swiftly, and it would be a bit of a surprise to see this appeal upheld in the age of “player safety”.
We’ll know more by Wednesday, but this ruling could set an interesting precedent either way.