Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen believes Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict needs to be punished for dirty plays committed against a few Panthers players during the 37-37 tie between the teams on Sunday.
Burfict could be seen twisting the ankles of Olsen and quarterback Cam Newton after each player scored touchdowns during the game. The ankle-twisting is notable because Newton is coming off offseason ankle surgery, while Olsen hurt his ankle in Week 5 and missed a few practices prior to the game because of it.
Olsen believes Burfict did the moves on purpose.
“Instances like that that are so clearly premeditated, that he had in his mind that if he had those opportunities that he was going to try to attack guys’ legs, but guys who are coming off ankle problems specifically, there’s no room for it,” Olsen said Monday, as you can see in the video.
“And I think the punishment needs to go beyond a fine. Guys like that don’t learn from that stuff. He’s been fined 100 times for head-hunting and he did it to (receiver) Kelvin (Benjamin) again. You watch the film, it’s just what he is.”
Below you can see Burfict wrenching Olsen’s ankle following a touchdown:
Here is Burfict doing it to Cam, who kicked back:
Panthers kicker Graham Gano also sounded off about the issue after Sunday’s game:
Unbelievable that a player would intentionally try to hurt my teammates twice. I hope the NFL lays down the law hard. #Unacceptable
— Graham Gano (@GrahamGano) October 13, 2014
Seriously that makes me sick. There is no room in this league 4 something like that. We are grown men, have respect for the game and others.
— Graham Gano (@GrahamGano) October 13, 2014
Luckily for Olsen, Burfict grabbed the wrong, non-injured leg. But this is nothing new for Burfict who, as Olsen said, is known for making dirty plays and knocking himself out. Vontaze has missed two games this season because of concussions and is frequently penalized for personal fouls and fined for hits. A suspension is definitely warranted in this case.
