It was pretty bad - neccessary call, but given how Donald was being blocked and how he reached out to grab
something, most likely unintended. AD's intention has nothing to do with the result. Facemask - that the refs couldn't ignore. Right there and replayed on primetime TV, the league had to react, if nothing else, to send a message - not primarily to the players, neccessarily, but to the fans: We are righteous and impartial in our officiating; thus sayeth the league.
That said, a two-tiered justice system does, in fact, exist in the NFL.Consider what we've seen over the years:
It's OK to hold AD.
It was OK to hit Warner - hard - well after a pass was thrown.
It is never OK to hit Tom Brady in the same way.
Our eyes are not deceiving us. There's more to the story that I dare not tell...
