Jets Coach Fired for 'Player Wall?' Suspension Could be For Good

"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." It's a phrase widely attributed to legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. But Coach Lombardi never advocated cheating.

It seems that New York Jets assistant coach Sal Alosi may have taken Lombardi's famous words too far. The disgraced Alosi tripped Miami Dolphins player Nolan Carroll during the Jets vs. Dolphins game Sunday.

It turns out that not only did the Jets coach trip Carroll, he also instructed several Jets to form a players wall on the sideline to illegally block Dolphins players from advancing downfield in the course of punt coverage. When the Jets learned of Sal Alosi's underhanded directives, they suspended him "indefinitely."

Don't be surprised if the next headline reads "Jets Coach Sal Alosi Fired."

"Over the last day as we continued our investigation we discovered some new information," Tannenbaum said. "The players at the Miami game were instructed by Sal to stand where they were forcing the gunner in the game to run around them. Based on that new information we've suspended Sal indefinitely, pending further review," said Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, ESPN reports.

The sideline wall revelation doesn't change much, legally speaking. While under personal injury (tort) law, Alosi could have been held liable for any injuries to Carroll, he was not seriously injured. If however, there was a lawsuit, the fact that Alosi premeditated the act would be relevant to demonstrate intent. As we previously detailed, for the purposes of a personal injury action, the only thing that would have mattered is that he intended to trip Carroll. However, the fact that the act was premeditated could have been relevant to the size of a judgment in the case for punitive damages.

Related Resources:

• Jets GM: Alosi suspended indefinitely (Fox Sports)
• Elements of Assault (FindLaw)
• Assumption of Risk (FindLaw)