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+---- Thread: *NSFL Sides With Unicorn, Outlaws (/showthread.php?tid=20156)
*NSFL Sides With Unicorn, Outlaws - BRNXB0MBERS - 03-15-2020
NSFL SIDES WITH UNICORN, OUTLAWS; AGREES MILLER’S HIT WAS CLEAN
Jeremy Cluff, Arizona Republic | Mar 15, 2020 | Phoenix
Austin leadership reiterated Saturday that Pete “Plop” Miller’s hit on Copperhead GM/RB Mako Mendonca was a cheap shot. Arizona GM unicorn continued to disagree.
On Sunday, the NSFL agreed with unicorn.
NSFL spokesman Teyon Schavari said HO reviewed the sim of the play and added, “Pete Miller will not be fined or suspended. It was a legal play, and there will be no disciplinary action from the league.”
Schavari also stated there will be no action taken on the verbal confrontation that took place after the game between Mendonca and Miller.
The hit occurred when Mendonca took a handoff from Austin QB Easton Cole during the first play of the fourth quarter in their week 2 game. Miller hit Mendonca at the line of scrimmage for no gain.
Mendonca suffered a hip injury and was observed at a local hospital overnight. Despite initial reports of losing feeling in his lower extremities, multiple tests and MRIs showed no spinal damage or structural damage in the hip. He is expected to be released in time for his next game.
Cole said Monday during his press conference in Austin Mendonca had “serious bruising of the bone with significant swelling.”
After the game, Mendonca confronted Miller in front of the Outlaws’ bench feeling the hit was cheap, unnecessary, and should have been flagged. The excessive celebration from Miller added fuel to the fire.
“If that’s not unnecessary roughness, I don’t know why it’s even in the rule book,” Cole said. “Even worse than that was the celebration. I thought the reaction afterwards was inappropriate. It wasn’t even that important of a play. It wasn’t a game-winning goal-line stand or something like that. The celebration when my teammate is down on the field…that bothered me.”
Unicorn, on Sunday, stood by his player.
“I want to be clear that there was nothing flagrant about that play. It was a great hit. It’s unfortunate that a player got hurt, but it was a perfectly legal tackle,” unicorn said. “Miller wasn’t celebrating because Mendonca was hurt. He was celebrating because we desperately needed to get a stop in order to get back in the game. He’s a passionate player, but he’s not malicious”
Unfortunately for Arizona, it didn’t make a difference. The drive ended in a touchdown, and the Outlaws lost the game 30-27.
“Plop did nothing illegal,” co-GM dankoa said. “He made an aggressive play. When the opposition runs the ball up the gut, we expect Miller to be there for the tackle. This play happened to result in an injury. We never want to see a player get hurt, I can guarantee you that.”
Strong safety Jamie Nkiah, who also defended Miller, had a long discussion with one of the referees on the field after the hit.
“We talked about the targeting rule,” Nkiah said. “It’s impossible to ‘target’ a player when you’re fighting in the trenches.
“We were discussing the rules to make sure it was a clean hit. The ref said the rule covers everybody, but agreed it did not apply to that play. He said he would have thrown a flag if he saw it as an illegal tackle.”
Miller, who defended himself after the game, was not available to comment Sunday.
Unicorn, however, said he felt Mendonca was out of line approaching Miller on the field after the game.
“I don’t think it’s ok to approach a player on the field after the game,” he said. “This is football. There are going to be big hits. It’s a physical game. There were some pretty big hits from their defense too. I thought there were some questionable tackles, but that’s for the ref to decide. I’m not going to ambush those players after the game and yell at them.”
Mendonca, however, maintained Sunday that he was right.
“I don’t regret being honest and truthful. I don’t regret letting him know how I felt. I regret the fact that an issue was made out of it,” Mendonca said.
As far as the NSFL is concerned, it’s no longer an issue.
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