New York Giants center Weston Richburg made history Sunday, becoming the first player ejected under the NFL’s new unsportsmanlike rule.
The new rule states that a player with two unsportsmanlike flags in one game will receive an ejection. Funnily enough, this rule came about due to Richburg’s teammate, Odell Beckham Jr., getting into a scary altercation with Josh Norman repeatedly last year.
Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper explained Richburgh’s two miscues that saw officials give him the boot:
Richburg was penalized for hitting Norman at the end of a solid catch and run by Beckham and a couple of plays after Norman was penalized for unnecessary roughness for hitting Sterling Shepard high when Shepard was a defenseless player.
Not to suggest his teammates were upset over the ejection:
Weston Richburg ejected from the Giants game for laying out Josh Norman at the end of a play. Gets a few pats on the back.
— Conor Orr (@ConorOrr) September 25, 2016
Richburg is the first, but he won’t be the last to hit the showers early due to misbehavior.
Unlike the new kickoff rules that have encouraged more returns than ever thanks to creative coaches, this one seems to do its job well in making the game safer.
