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Originally Posted by FRPLG
Well I don't think one ought to be kicked out of a game for it. I just personally don't think it is that bad. Because of that it pisses me off that a guy like Sean Taylor gets punished but the other equally wrong player doesn't. I don't think Pittman should get kicked out for his role but I do think it is incumbent upon the refs to call games fairly and obey the rules. The video proving he spit did two things. It proved to me he spit and it proved to me that Mike Carey made an arbitrary decision that one thing was worse than the other. So much worse in fact that apparently breaking the rules directly in front on a ref was ok. What that does is it allows everyone to globaly castiagte Taylor and it lets Pittman off scott free both in the game and ultimately the media. That changes perceptions of the incident and perceptions of Taylor that affect how he is treated during games. Now he gets watched more closely and all of a sudden maybe that perfectly timed hit gets a penalty or something like that. It puts Taylor unfairly in the cross hairs for something that was really basically harmless. If both guys get penalties the situation gets dissolved more benignly and none of us are having this discussion I think. Offsetting penalties get talked about for three seconds on the broadcast and they move on. I am sure we can all agree that the penalty was called for but the ejection seemed awful quick and uncalled for. It makes one wonder why Taylor was held to a higher standard?
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I agree with FRPLG. Nobody on this site has been able to rationalize why spitting should be considered worse than throwing a punch. The reason for that is it can't be rationalized. One act is gross. The other act hurts.
Carey acted rashly in deciding to eject Taylor and not punish Pittman whatsoever. Carey saw the spit, was appalled, and reacted immediately by throwing the flag and ejecting Taylor on the spot. He did not discuss things with his crew, he did not take any time to think about how to punish both parties fairly, he just acted as soon as he saw the spit. The punishment didn't fit the crime because Carey's reaction was partially driven by his disgust.