Sunday’s game against the Patriots included a pair of incidents involving Lions center Dominic Raiola. He leveled Patriots defensive tackle Zach Moore with a blow to the head during a play, and then Raiola took out Moore’s knees on the final snap of the game, because Raiola was unhappy about New England’s decision to score a garbage-time touchdown.
Raiola said on Tuesday that he wasn’t fined. Per a league source, he won’t be.
It’s unclear why the league has opted to look the other way in both instances, especially in light of the safety-conscious nature of today’s NFL. And in light of the league’s fine-happy nature on issues that have little to do with safety. Or, as some would argue, common sense.
Raiola punched Moore in the head and then dove at Moore’s knees on a play when the Lions were taking a knee. If failing to talk to the media or wearing the wrong kind of headphones or selecting shoes that don’t reflect the proper color scheme justify the withholding of a portion of a player’s paycheck, how do neither of Raiola’s infractions trigger punishment?