The Spitting Ejection

I agree that it couldn't have been a great big loogy because that would have been visible even on normal-def t.v. and having watched the entire incident several times I see no evidence whatsoever.

I suggest there must have been a second spitter. One of Pittman's own teamates or perhaps another official. We're through the looking glass here people...

I agree that it couldn't have been a great big loogy because that would have been visible even on normal-def t.v. and having watched the entire incident several times I see no evidence whatsoever.

I suggest there must have been a second spitter. One of Pittman's own teamates or perhaps another official. We're through the looking glass here people...
Lmao.... well there was the Grassy Field kinda knoll like thing there so maybe you're on to something

Considering Taylor's rep, how can anyone defend him??

Matty I'm surprised, you usually keep a pretty level head about this. It's SPIT! Let me ask you, what is worse: spitting on someone, or punching someone?

Both acts are dirty, true. But one is designed to hurt, the other is just disgusting. I guess for me, I just don't understand what the big deal is about being spit on.

And that's assuming that it actually HAPPENED! Since all we saw was a head-bob, it's very likely that ST just called Pittman a PuSSy, or some other very percussive-sounding word that resulted in some inadvertent saliva.

This was not a Romanowski loogie, and anyone who is claiming so is overreacting, just as the ref did. If it was a major spit, it would have shown up on camera. If there was any spit at all, it was small enough to get missed by the cameras.

I'm not so much defending Sean Taylor as I am attacking the refs. In the playoffs, you LET THE PLAYERS PLAY. And who the f*ck wants a bunch of prim and proper p*ssies on their defense anyway? I for one am glad Sean Taylor is rough around the edges, it's part of what makes him so intimidating. If you think that's not an asset to his play, then you're naive. And if you think that spits don't happen all the time, then that's naive too. Especially in the playoffs.

But in the end, who really cares. I highly doubt ST will be suspended, so no harm done. If his public image is damaged, I just don't give a f*ck. He's a great player for my favorite team, and classless or not, that's all that matters to me. But I was brought up here in Philly, so maybe that explains why I feel the way I feel about it.

DON'T OVERREACT. IT'S JUST SPIT! IT DOESN'T HURT!

Just spit?

So if someone spit in your face would you be able to restrain yourself and laugh it off?? I know if someone spit in my face they'd better turn and run really damn fast.

Whatever man... spitting is widely considered as one of the most disrespectful things you can do to a person.

It's downright dispicable and to steal a line from Sean Salisbury it's BUSH LEAGUE.

There's no room in the game for that sort of behavior. In fact there's no room in life for crap like that.

Just spit?

You've really gotta be kidding me.

Is there an actual rule that allows for a player to be ejected if they spit on another player? Is it that specific? Or do we think this is Carey's personal interpretation of "unsportsmanlike conduct"?

Maybe Taylor is, as Jamie Foxx says, just "juicy"...(you know, one of those guys with excessive oral fluid)

Just spit?

So if someone spit in your face would you be able to restrain yourself and laugh it off?? I know if someone spit in my face they'd better turn and run really damn fast.

Whatever man... spitting is widely considered as one of the most disrespectful things you can do to a person.

It's downright dispicable and to steal a line from Sean Salisbury it's BUSH LEAGUE.

There's no room in the game for that sort of behavior. In fact there's no room in life for crap like that.

Just spit?

You've really gotta be kidding me.

No room in the game? I think you're the one that's kidding yourself, Matty. It happens all the time. If this is a regular season game, I can see ejecting a guy. But in the playoffs? In the playoffs it makes sense to eject a guy for spitting? Just flag him for 15 yards, it's not like he tried to injure him.

If someone spits, yes it's classless. I won't try to argue otherwise. But all I'm saying is that it's not worth ejecting a player for, possibly swinging the balance of the game. I think the refs overreacted, a 15 yard penalty is suitable punishment in my opinion. Especially considering nobody, NOBODY can find any spit actually hitting Pittman.

As a follow-up, arguing about how disrespectful it is to spit in someone's face was not my intention. All I meant to say was that if ST did actually spit in Pittman's face, then I'll deal with it. Sean Taylor is worth it, and his if his fiery personality leads to questionable behavior that comes across as classless, then that's fine with me. Because that fiery personality is the exact thing that makes him a special player. I'll definitely take the good with the bad, and all I initially meant to say was that nobody should be coming down on Sean Taylor. Call him classless all you want, but he can still play on my defense any day.

I still don't think the refs should eject someone for spitting, they don't even eject people for taking swings at each other. That just makes no sense to me, eject someone for spitting, but if someone takes a swing, that's fine. What would you rather have, germs in your face or a bloody nose? I'll take the germs, thanks.

Just spit?

So if someone spit in your face would you be able to restrain yourself and laugh it off?? I know if someone spit in my face they'd better turn and run really damn fast.

Whatever man... spitting is widely considered as one of the most disrespectful things you can do to a person.

It's downright dispicable and to steal a line from Sean Salisbury it's BUSH LEAGUE.

There's no room in the game for that sort of behavior. In fact there's no room in life for crap like that.

Just spit?

You've really gotta be kidding me.

The problem with this line of reasoning is it compares what's acceptable in the normal real world to what's acceptable on the football field.

I'm pretty sure lunging at a person and driving their face into the ground in the middle of the street would be considered unacceptable in the real world, but it's pretty common in the NFL.

There is a fair amount of evidence (it's been written about in psychological journals and the like) that the inordinate amount of off-field troubles by pro athletes, especially those who play contact sports, has to do with the fact that their livelihoods, their sense of belonging, and ultimately how they are compared against their peers, are largely determined by how aggressive and animalistic they can be (you don't usually see this in QB's, WR's, or kickers, but otherwise, it's pretty true).

To put it bluntly, it's just not that easy for some of these guys to "turn it off". Some guys, like Taylor apparently, play so close to the edge that they are probably slightly out of control on the field. And in that kind of environment, crazy stuff happens. Ask Lawrence Taylor about it. He talks all the time about playing games where he can't really remember what happened, he was just in this zone, and at the end, everyone's asking him how crazy he was to be diving all over the place killing people.

Personally, I'm mad at Sean Taylor for putting the team in jeopardy for something so foolish. I can't see anything blatant or Romo-style from the replay, and I've seen it a dozen times now, so whatever it was must not have been that deliberate or thought out.

At any event, I've no allusions about him being a "classy" player. He will never be a classy player. Most NFL players will never be classy. Guys like Darrell, Monte, and Charles Mann, they were classy. But they were special, too.

Guys like Sean are just angry, heat-seeking missiles looking to destroy something. And you can't ask a heat-seeking missile to stop and think about what it's doing. You just point it in the right direction and get the f*** out of the way. You take all the dozens of game-saving plays with the one or two boneheaded ones

Just my .02

Just spit?

So if someone spit in your face would you be able to restrain yourself and laugh it off?? I know if someone spit in my face they'd better turn and run really damn fast.

Whatever man... spitting is widely considered as one of the most disrespectful things you can do to a person.

It's downright dispicable and to steal a line from Sean Salisbury it's BUSH LEAGUE.

There's no room in the game for that sort of behavior. In fact there's no room in life for crap like that.

Just spit?

You've really gotta be kidding me.

I Usually dont agree with Matty lol but this time I am 100% with you its sickening

No room in the game? I think you're the one that's kidding yourself, Matty. It happens all the time. If this is a regular season game, I can see ejecting a guy. But in the playoffs? In the playoffs it makes sense to eject a guy for spitting? Just flag him for 15 yards, it's not like he tried to injure him.

If someone spits, yes it's classless. I won't try to argue otherwise. But all I'm saying is that it's not worth ejecting a player for, possibly swinging the balance of the game. I think the refs overreacted, a 15 yard penalty is suitable punishment in my opinion. Especially considering nobody, NOBODY can find any spit actually hitting Pittman.

So because we can't see it at home on TV we're somehow better equiped to formulate an opinion as opposed to the ref that was standing right there??

As for this happening all the time... funny because I didn't realize spitting was such a common occurence in the NFL. I must be missing all these highlights of guys spitting in each other's faces.

Perhaps the penalty didn't fit the crime and was a bit harsh, but that's not my point. My point is there's no defending such a classless action. ST is a punk. He ruined what was turning out to be a monster game for him, his postseason coming out party. It's really a shame.