Giants running back Brandon Jacobs should consider himself a very lucky man.
During the Colts 38-14 thumping of the Giants this past Sunday night, Jacobs tossed his helmet into the stands at Lucas Oil Stadium. Fortunately, the helmet did not hit anyone. Had it done so, Brandon Jacobs would likely be suspended right now and searching the Yellow Pages for a good defense lawyer.
However, because the helmet did not slam into a paying fan's face or crack open some little kid's skull, the NFL is only fining the Giants running back $10K for his near disastrous meltdown.
Interesting note: The guy who eventually got a hold of Jacobs' helmet in the stands was forced by stadium security to give it back. His name is Jeff Lasiter, an Indiana University graduate who resides in Greenwood, IN. Lasiter was interviewed on 1070 The Fan on Monday. During the interview, he made an interesting point:
"I find it interesting that, if a fan were to throw their Coke or their beer or their hot dog, 50 feet onto the playing surface, that fan would have been out of there in a heartbeat," Lasiter said. "Here is a professional athlete who, apparently inadvertently, whether it was an accident or intentional, throws an object into the stands. I'm very eager to see what action the NFL takes with that player because there was extreme potential for serious injury with the velocity and where that helmet landed."
Well Jeff, the 'action' was $10K fine. Jacobs signed a four year, $25 million dollar contract two seasons ago. $10K is the kind of dough he blows his nose with.
Is there a double standard exposed here? Absolutely. If a fan throw a helmet, or any kind of projectile, at players, that fan would be ejected from the stadium and possibly barred from ever returning. We saw something like this happen back in 1995, when fans threw snowballs at players, coaches, and officials during a Giants v. Chargers game. Several people were arrested.
When players throw helmets at fans, there are no arrests, no suspensions. The penalty is a fine equivalent to the kind of money Brandon Jacobs wipes his butt with on a daily basis.