Albert Haynesworth
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| Albert Haynesworth | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | June 17, 1981 (age 25) |
| Place of birth |  Hartsville, South Carolina |
| Position(s) | Defensive tackle |
| College | Tennessee |
| NFL Draft | 2002 / Round 1/ Pick 15 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2002-present | Tennessee Titans |
Albert Haynesworth (born June 17, 1981) is a current American football defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans in the National Football League. He went to Hartsville High School in Hartsville, South Carolina, and was recruited to the University of Tennessee. He is best known for stomping on the forehead of Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode in a game early in the 2006 NFL season.
Haynesworth played college football in the University of Tennessee. He has a history of issues with his temper. For example, while a sophomore at Tennessee, he fought with a teammate and left practice, returning with a long pole looking for tackle Will Ofenheusle before coach Phillip Fulmer stopped him. He was suspended for a half of a game. Another incident occurred at a Titans training camp, where he kicked center and teammate Justin Hartwig in the chest, and had to be restrained by teammates.[1]
Arrest warrants were issued against Haynesworth in two Tennessee counties in May of 2006 stemming from a traffic incident on Interstate 40. Both sets of charges were dropped in June of 2006. The Judge in the Putnam county case tossed the charges on the grounds that the alleged offense happened out of their jurisdiction. In Smith county, the district attorney dismissed the charges. [2]
Contents |
[edit] Stomping incident
[edit] The play
On October 1, 2006, in the third quarter of a game against the Cowboys, running back Julius Jones scored on a running play. Center Andre Gurode fell to the ground, and his helmet either fell off or was taken off by Haynesworth. According to DallasCowboys.com columnist Mickey Spagnola[2], Haynesworth reached down and pulled off his helmet; in video evidence of the play, Haynesworth does indeed bend down towards Gurode prior to his helmet being off and prior to the stomps, although because the view is partially blocked by other players it cannot be seen whether he manually removes the helmet. (video) However, most media outlets reported simply that Gurode's helmet was off.
Haynesworth tried to stomp on Gurode's head, but missed. A second stomp opened a severe wound on Gurode's forehead, narrowly missing his right eye. Haynesworth was hit with a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. In the midst of his protest, he took off his helmet and threw it to the ground, which led to another 15-yard penalty and Haynesworth's ejection from the game. [3] Gurode later received 30 stitches just above and below his right eye. After the game, Titans coach Jeff Fisher apologized on behalf of the Titans organization to Cowboys coach Bill Parcells.
Haynesworth apologized after the game, saying words cannot describe how he felt. He was quoted as saying "What I did out there was disgusting."
[edit] Aftermath
On October 2, 2006, Haynesworth was suspended for 5 games without pay by the NFL. The suspension is the longest in NFL history for an on-the-field incident, more than twice as long as the previous record of 2 games.[4] He will forfeit around $190,000 [5] in salary. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who had only been on the job a month, stated that there was "absolutely no place in the game, or anywhere else" for Haynesworth's behavior. However, ESPN's Mark Schlereth, a 12-year NFL veteran, felt that Haynesworth should have been suspended for the rest of the season. ESPN's Merril Hoge harshly criticized the officials for not ejecting Haynesworth immediately after the stomp. [6]
Gurode later said that he will not seek criminal charges against Haynesworth. He is still experiencing headaches and blurred vision. [7]
The NFL Players Association initially planned to appeal the suspension, calling it too severe. However, Haynesworth said on October 3 that he would not appeal, after personally apologizing to Gurode in the same day. In a press conference on October 5, Haynesworth apologized to all who watched the game and said he is starting counseling to control his emotions. He also said that he will work with children in the Nashville area.
Haynesworth was eligible to return on November 19 for the Titans' game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Even then, there was no guarantee that he would play. Fisher told Parcells after the game that the Titans would punish Haynesworth themselves if they felt the NFL's punishment wasn't harsh enough. On the same day as Haynesworth's press conference, Fisher told a national radio show that the Cowboys game may have been Haynesworth's last as a Titan. The team had the option of either deactivating him each week for the final seven games of the season or releasing him. [8] Had the Titans released him, they had enough room under the salary cap to absorb the $5.5 million they would owe him for 2007. [9]
Haynesworth's agent, Chad Speck, told several media outlets that Haynesworth fully expected to return to practice on November 13, and he did indeed report that day. He played against the Eagles on November 19, and recorded one tackle.
