Is the NFL Fining Policy Working?

Could the National Football League's emphasis on reducing head-to-head injuries really be increasing the likelihood of an injury?

Former Dallas Cowboy safety, Cliff Harris, believes that the act of consciously thinking how to avoid the helmet-to-helmet contact could be encouraging too much thinking which could result in more injuries. "The problem is that when you start thinking about how to make a tackle, or where to hit a guy then the chances of the tackler being injured goes up," Harris said. "Instead of being a reactive thing, it's a thinking process. That jeopardizes the defensive player. That's the other side of the coin that exists." As an athlete myself, I find that whenever I focus on specific aspect that I need to work on all at once, my brain is overloaded and I end up just messing up completely. Similarly, when a football player has to focus on how to tackle the opponent they may end up doing it more dangerously than before thinking about being cautious. So I agree with Harris’s opinion about the pressure of the fine and the affect that it is having on players.

Another question to be asked of this new fining system is whether or not it is even worth it. Do the fines encourage the players to avoid this aggressive play or is it just some punishment they can make disappear in the blink of an eye?

James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers was fined Tuesday for the fourth time this season. Harrison is planning on appealling all of his fines since he feels they are all unwarranted. After the fine was issued, Harrison was quoted saying, “It angers me, of course, that they're taking absurd amounts of money from me for plays that I consider to be clean and legal hits… I’m not playing dirty. I’m not doing anything that’s outside the lines. …There’s nothing malicious or illegal about the way I’m playing or I’m tackling guys, so I’m going to continue to play the way I’m playing.”

From this one example, it is apparent that these fines are doing nothing but angering the players and creating more work for the National Football League. I personally feel as though professional football can become quite violent and something should be done about it but we have already discussed how these players are being paid exorbitant amounts so what’s one fine?  Why can’t the NFL put in place a system of suspensions instead of fines as a punishment? I would think players would be much more likely to respond to something that could possibly affect the outcome of a game or the performance of their team rather than something that just affects them and can be dealt with in a short period of time.