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The facts in the Orlando Brown situate should dictate that the league just FORGET it ever happened. Let's review:
1. Brown's father went blind late in life.
2. Brown, sensitive to this concern, chose to wear a clear shield over his eyes.
3. The NFL, in their infinite wisdom, forced him to STOP wearing the shield, due to arbitrary uniform guidelines. Brown obeyed.
4. Ref Jeff Triplette decided not to fill his flag "pocket" with bird seed or other recommended items, instead opting for metal pellets (bb's), illegal under NFL rules.
5. Ref Jeff Tripletter tossed the flag AT Brown's head instead of the ground. Keep in mind Brown wasn't even being penalized, and Brown stands 6'7". While Triplette may not have intended to hit Brown in the eye, he certainly wasn't aiming for the ground. This is also against NFL rules.
6. Brown was then cut by the Browns and missed three seasons during the prime of his career. At the time he was one of the highest paid OT in the NFL, and in 1999 was the TOP OT on the free agent market.
Those are pretty damning facts. Sure, he knocked Triplette down when he got in his face for trying to come back to the huddle. Brown's a head case on the field- but it doesn't diminish the facts of the case. The worst part (business-wise), imho, is that Brown's huge signing bonus got accellerated when he was cut, and the Browns couldn't sign a decent OT to replace him. The NFL, after costing Brown and his team, wouldn't even forgive the salary cap hit. Ridiculous!
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