The Cleveland Browns have nominated defensive end, Myles Garrett, for the “Walter Payton Man of the Year Award” despite the fact that that he recently served a long suspension for using a helmet to bash an opponent over the head.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Garrett was nominated for the honor for his outstanding example on and off the field. “Browns’ DE Myles Garrett has been named the team’s 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year, recognizing the NFL’s best players for their performance on the field and their dedication to the community,” Schefter wrote.
The award nomination comes only eight months after Garrett was allowed to restart his career after being handed an indefinite suspension for using a helmet to bash Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph over the head.
Garrett was placed on indefinite suspension for the incident at the end of a Steelers-Browns game on November 14th of last year, when he hit Rudolph with his own helmet.
Far from being apologetic over the attack, Garrett excused his actions claiming without evidence that it was Rudolph’s fault because the Steelers quarterback yelled a racial slur at him just before Garrett attacked.
Not one other player ever substantiated Garrett’s accusations of racism. Indeed, Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey – who is black – said that Garrett’s claim was unequivocally false.
Many Twitter users were shocked that a man who only just recently engaged in on-field violence was given such a high award:
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