Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended for the remainder of the season — and later had that suspension upheld — following a helmet-to-helmet hit on Colts tight end Jack Doyle.
Burfict, who has now lost a total of $5.3 million due to disciplinary action in his NFL career, had long been regarded as one of the league’s dirtiest players. It’s not as much of an opinion as it is a designation backed up by a trove of evidence.
Yet, according to Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, the league was out to get Burfict from the start this season. He called the whole suspension a “witch hunt.”
Aside from parroting a certain someone in the White House, I’m not exactly sure where Guenther was going with that statement. It can’t really be a “witch hunt” when the person in question repeatedly breaks the rules on camera and in packed stadiums.
That wouldn’t constitute much of a hunt.
Guenther went on to say that neither the Raiders nor Burfict were aware that he was one dirty hit away from a season-long suspension. But the league had warned Burfict that repeat offenses could result in harsher penalties. He’s had more than enough chances, and the league finally had enough.
That’s not a witch hunt at all when Burfict unquestionably poses a risk to player safety. Something had to be done.
