You didn't mention Mike Ditka of the Bears, a good tight end who (sadly) played dirty. The inside uppercut to the nuts was one of his patented blocking moves. When he tried to teach it as a coach, another great tight end he was coaching told him, "I don't play football that way."
There is a difference. Was the foot stomp your partner suffered right or wrong?
Singletary was good and rough, punishing, but insofar as I remember, clean.
And forgive me for preaching to the choir for a bit, but accidental injuries happen in the fast collision sport played by big strong men that we know and love as NFL football - but there's a difference between accidental or incidental injury and the deliberate cheap shot intended to cause injury.
My whole point:
Deliberately inflicting pain, which doesn't last but is felt, within the rules, is one thing. Deliberately attempting to inflict injury, which can be life-altering (CTE) and permanent, is quite another.Another incidental point:
We live in a culture that lets offenders off the hook if they express remorse. Joseph games that part of the system in saying he prays for Higs (hiding behind his faith is doubly offensive to me as a Christian) and saying that he didn't mean to hurt no body (sic) but blows his cover with conflicting statements including threats and mischaracterization of the game. Does that somehow make his behavior right or excusable?
I ain't buying.