Tennessee Titans special teams ace Donnie Nickey's ejection Sunday was the correct ruling by the letter of NFL law.
That doesn't mean Titans coach Jeff Fisher has to agree with it. And he doesn't.
Nickey, an eight-year veteran safety, was ejected in the fourth quarter of the Titans' loss in San Diego Sunday because he made contact with an official. According to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean, Nickey "got tangled up with Chargers offensive lineman Scott Mruczkowski at the end of a punt.
"But when Nickey got out from underneath the 310-pounder he appeared to take a swing at him," Wyatt reported. "Instead he struck an official who was coming in to pull the two players apart."
Officials penalized the Titans 15 yards and ejected Nickey.
"I agree with the foul, I don't agree with the ejection," said Fisher, a prominent member of the NFL's prestigious Competition Committee. "It was unintentional. But that is the rule, if you contact an official you must be ejected.''
Titans defensive end Jason Babin defended Nickey to officials.
"The guy was on top of him grinding Donnie's face in the ground and the referee wasn't breaking it up,'' Babin said. "Donnie got up and tried to defend himself and the ref ran in front of him and caught the two-handed blow by accident.
"If you jump in front of a speeding car, what do you expect to happen? Donnie wasn't trying to punch the guy. It was an accident.''
Ejection of Titans Special Teamer Donnie Nickey Not Supported by Jeff Fisher
Nov 1, 2010 – 5:54 PM
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