It is violent to play football. Nobody has ever disputed that. However, it is only appropriate to allow violence when it is strictly necessary and during active play.
It is time to collect yourself and get your head straight as soon as the whistle sounds. Things can get out of control very fast when that does not happen.That was precisely the case with the Houston Texans on Wednesday. Colleagues fighting was one of the worst things they could have witnessed. A brawl between two very respected teammates. Even if it is not an uncommon occurrence, you never want to witness something like this. A team will never benefit from such a show, despite the cheers of those who support it. A fight amongst teammates, particularly one that is filthy, ruins the team dynamic.
Partisanship blossoms, tensions increase, and problems can—and typically do—linger even if everyone tells the media the proper thing. Based on a video that we saw on Twitter/X, we are concerned about that. Dalton Schultz was seen walking towards the camera when Derek Stingley struck him from behind.
Stingley runs up from behind and hits Schultz in the head as he is about to remove his gear and proceed to the sideline area. Startlingly, one reporter says Stefon Diggs was the main reason for this.
Stingley and Shultz get into in camp #Texans #traningcamp #houstontexans pic.twitter.com/XtsrhLkms1
— Rob (@YouGewdBro) July 24, 2024
The whole altercation began between Diggs and Jimmie Ward, according to DJ Bien-Aime, and when more individuals got involved, the cheap shot was executed.
Just because it was pure physicality does not mean that too many people will think this is wonderful. Nevertheless, there is a risk that you will not be able to control them when it counts if you can not control your emotions during practice against your teammates. Guys who overreact and become too upset have shown this way too frequently, severely hurting their team. If this were a genuine game, judges could give out penalties, ejections, or suspensions. Behavior of this kind has repercussions.
Being in the league long enough to know that you do not try cheap shots on players after a play, much less your teammates, Stingley is not a newcomer. Getting someone to put their ear in his and make him see his mistakes is the only chance for success. A disagreement during the play’s conclusion is one thing. Headhunting your man is one thing; going above and beyond is quite another.
It is not acceptable for the Texans to have disagreements in the locker room over such foolishness. It is battles like these that break teams apart.
Teams deserving of championships have lost opportunities to succeed due to internal strife both in the NFL and elsewhere. Michael Westbrook and Stephen Davis, Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas, Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole, Bill Romanowski and Marcus Williams, and so on. People become hostile and mistrustful of one another as a result of this circumstance. Overcoming it is not something that is simple. Because of this, when something like this occurs, elite teams typically collapse.
Though not always. After their infamous altercation, Michael Jordan and Steve Kerr grew closer. Not every circumstance is like that.
So that this does not fester and escalate into a more serious problem than it needs to be, let us hope Stingley attempts to make amends and apologizes.