Suspended Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson said he is meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in New York on Wednesday to discuss his latest punishment.
Saying he feels like a “poster child,” Jackson spoke Tuesday night for the first time since receiving a four-game ban on Nov. 20 for repeated violations of player safety rules.
“For me, I see a lot of the same things happening around the league where guys aren’t going through what I’m going through — no flags, no fines, no suspensions,” Jackson said.
“I’m not really sure why I’m being treated the way I’m being treated. I’m making regular football plays, nothing malicious, in my opinion,” Jackson said. “I just want to know why I’m the only person going through what I’m going through.”
Jackson had just returned from a two-game suspension when he was banned four more games without pay after his hit against Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs on Nov. 19.
NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan issued the suspension and detailed the violation in a letter to Jackson.
“With 13:38 remaining in the first quarter, you were involved in a play that the League considers a serious violation of the playing rules,” Runyan wrote in the letter. “The video of the play shows that you lowered your head and made forcible contact to Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs. You had an unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided.
“Illegal acts that are flagrant and jeopardize the safety of players will not be tolerated. The League will continue to stress enforcement of the rules that prohibit using your helmet to make forcible contact with your opponent. On the play in question, you lowered your head and delivered a forceful blow to the shoulder and head/neck area of an opponent when you had time and space to avoid such contact. You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules, yet you chose not to.”
Jackson was not penalized on the play. Barring a successful appeal, he is not eligible to return to the active roster after the Week 15 game against the Detroit Lions on Dec. 17.
Jackson said he tried to get some answers from the league during his initial suspension but was unsuccessful.
“There’s no clarity, a lot of gray area,” Jackson said. “I asked them a ton of questions and told them I’ll be in the same situations. How am I supposed to play or how am I supposed to go about these situations?”
“So, hopefully, something comes from this meeting. I don’t think much will, because I don’t even think they know,” he added. “At this point, I feel like I’m the poster child for whatever they’re trying to get across or prove. So, we’ll see.”
So far this season, Jackson has been ejected from two games, suspended for six and fined a total of $89,670 for four illegal hits. The missed game checks are costing him an additional $837,000.
Jackson, 35, has 51 tackles, two interceptions and three passes defended in eight games (all starts) this season.
Jackson is in his 14th season in the NFL and his fifth with Denver after nine with the Houston Texans. He has 952 tackles and 22 career interceptions, returning three for touchdowns. He also has seven fumble recoveries, one returned for a score.
–Field Level Media