Marshall Celebration Could Have Cost Broncos
If you missed Thursday night's game between the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos, you missed a fantastic comeback by the AFC West leaders. Even if you did see the game, however, you may have missed what could have been a very embarrassing moment for wide receiver Brandon Marshall if not for the quick thinking of a couple of his teammates.
Shortly after Marshall caught what proved to be the game-winning touchdown pass from quarterback Jay Cutler, he reached into the waistband of his pants and pulled out what appeared to be a glove. Apparently he had planned to use a black and white glove as a symbolic gesture of racial unity in honor of Barack Obama's election to the office of President of the United States. Thank goodness fellow receiver Brandon Stokely and tight end Tony Scheffler had a little more sense than Marshall and halted his political statement before it got to the point that it drew a flag. Use of a prop during a touchdown celebration is an automatic personal foul that would have likely resulted in good field position for the Browns following the ensuing kickoff.
A 15-yard penalty at that point could have been disastrous with just a four-point lead and a little over a minute remaining in the game. And it should be troubling to head coach Mike Shanahan that Marshall apparently didn't realize the significance of what he was about to do. Or even worse... that he didn't care.
I'm not sure why any head coach would tolerate this type of showmanship regardless of how honorable the message is that is being sent. Any player who costs his team 15 yards in a premeditated fashion such as this, regardless of the game situation, deserves a one game suspension for stupidity. They all know props are no longer allowed. So, in essence, they are sabotaging their own team's efforts by planning these ploys out in advance.
Granted, if the game is already well in hand, it is feasible that a player could get away with this without adversely affecting his team. Pulling a stunt like that with the game on the line, however, is simply inexcusable.
Photo: Doug Pensinger / Getty Images
Comments
Come on, man. Obama’s election and what it means for race relations are more important than football.
I’m a die-hard Broncos fan, and yeah, that penalty would have hurt. Might even have cost us the game. But it’s a *game*. It’s a game that has had tremendous impact in our society in terms of race. To rail against a “political statement” (which it wasn’t) over a sporting event is silly, and makes you look narrow-minded and absorbed.
Football is a game. It’s a great game. But there’s more to our nation than that. Give marshall a break, and look at the big picture.