NFL reduces Commanders’ linebacker’s suspension to fine after appeal
Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu’s one-game suspension has been reduced to a fine after an appeal hearing.
Luvu will instead be subjected to a $100,000 fine following the decision from hearing officer, Derrick Brooks. He will be eligible to play in Week 10 when the Commanders host the Detroit Lions.
The linebacker was handed the one-game suspension on Nov. 3 as a result of repeated hip-drop tackle violations. A league statement said Luvu’s punishment was ‘for repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players, including during Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.’
Luvu committed his third hip-drop tackle of the season on ‘Sunday Night Football’ against the Seattle Seahawks, sparking the initial suspension. He was fined for the previous violations in Week 4 and Week 8.
According to the release:
Luvu violated Rule 12, Section 2, Article 18 (a)(b), which states that: “It is a foul if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground: (a) grabs the runner with one or both hands or wraps the runner with both arms; and (b) unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and/or trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”
Luvu’s hip-drop tackle came with 7:55 remaining in the first quarter after he brought down Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Brooks is one of three hearing officers that could’ve heard Luvu’s appeal, with the others being Jordy Nelson and Ramon Foster.
