Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict’s season-long suspension will hold after his appeal was heard on Tuesday, according to NFL.com. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker and current appeal officer, Derrick Brooks, upheld the suspension.
Appointed by the NFLPA and the league, Brooks upheld the suspension on the assumption of Burfict’s repeated violation of the league’s helmet-to-helmet rule.
Of course, Burfict’s history of repeated on-the-field issues hurt his case, as the 12-game suspension is the longest in NFL history for an on-the-field incident. In his first season with the Raiders, Burfict had become a team leader, being named captain, and was playing some of the best football we had seen out of him in a long time.