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Sorrow not guilt
Yahoo! Sports - 10 hours ago
Nearly 29 years after the fact and NFL fans are still missing the point.

It wasn't Jack Tatum who owed Darryl Stingley an apology. It was the football-crazed world that owed Stingley.

Stingley's death this week at age 55 is another reminder of that inconvenient truth. During an exhibition game in 1978, Tatum, then a safety with the Oakland Raiders, hit New England Patriots wide receiver Stingley. The hit left Stingley paralyzed for the remainder of his life.

In the time since, Tatum's name has become synonymous with cheap hits, leading to the ever-increasing rules about what is legal. Never mind the fact that Tatum had been trained for years to dish out such hits. And never mind the fact that to this day, hits like those are what the fans love to see. Those bone-jarring hits are popularized by everything from video games to ESPN's insipid "Jacked Up" segment.

Despite those realities, Tatum has been vilified because of the result. Tatum was reminded this week about that when Stingley's death hit the news and regurgitated all the old arguments.

"They said on ESPN the other day that I hit him in the back and that's just a lie," Tatum said. "It's amazing to me that they lie like that when they can just look at the hit. They have it on tape."

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 00:44:18 GMT

Post your comments about this story here.

[Lefty Noob]

So what does everyone think of the hit? Clean or cheap shot?

[Phils20]

I think the hit was one that you saw all the time, with very bad results. The bad thing, if true, is that Tatum never spoke to him about it. I have heard that in the past!

Does anyone know if that is true??

Still, a high price to pay while playing a game.

RIP DS, you deserved a better fate.

[azrael492]

I don't think I have ever seen the hit. Is there footage somewhere I can see it.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

So what does everyone think of the hit? Clean or cheap shot?

I'll tell you what I do hate about the media reporting of this. Why do they keep adding Tatum's name in this incident? Don't you think that he felt bad right after it happened? Now he and his family must relive this terrible tragedy again ... after 29 years. Even Stingley didn't hold a grudge. It just seems like the media is shining attention on someone who has already suffered enough over this.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

I'll tell you what I do hate about the media reporting of this. Why do they keep adding Tatum's name in this incident? Don't you think that he felt bad right after it happened? Now he and his family must relive this terrible tragedy again ... after 29 years. Even Stingley didn't hold a grudge. It just seems like the media is shining attention on someone who has already suffered enough over this.

I am sure he felt bad, but in a way he cashed in too...he wrote a book called "They call me Assassin"...I think the title was in bad taste after the hit on Stingley...so it all evens out.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

I'll tell you what I do hate about the media reporting of this. Why do they keep adding Tatum's name in this incident? Don't you think that he felt bad right after it happened? Now he and his family must relive this terrible tragedy again ... after 29 years. Even Stingley didn't hold a grudge. It just seems like the media is shining attention on someone who has already suffered enough over this.

Well, this might be veering slightly off topic, but in all things the media likes to assign blame, find someone at fault.

Tatum wanted to tell stingley he felt sorry for stingley but stingley's people would not let that happen. Tatum never apoligized because he did nothing wrong. It was without a doubt a great hit. Nothing dirty at all. If you want to blame anyone, it is the quarterback for putting his reciever in that position. Stingley was bitter because he had a freak accident. He knew what football was when he went to work. He was never a big enough man to tell the world that Jack did nothing wrong. I feel sorry for him.

[Dusty]

Sometimes a clean hit if one player is turned just a bit can come up with disastrous results. Look at Mike Utley. The Rams player who blocked him did nothing wrong but it was just an awkward position the body was in and left Utley paralyzed. Looking at Tatum's hit I don't see anything dirty about it. Aggressive yes but this is football and aggression is part of the game. Finally Daryl Stingley is at peace now and I hope that he's somewhere in the universe where he can walk and be free.

There was nothing illegal or cheap about the hit Tatum put on Stingley. They were throwing slants all day. It was obvious that the defense wasn't going to continue to allow the pats to show them up like that, hell they even warned them. Steve Grogan still kept calling slants even though it was only an exhibition game. Honestly, Grogan left him out to dry. If he hadn't been paralyzed we would be seeing that hit on nfl films greatest hits and be saying ohhh and ahhhh. Truly a tragic turn of events and a sad day for all participants. For those of you who have not read the book, the title is by no means boastful. Tatum like every defensive player is trained from a very young age to be aggressive and to "jack someone up." He did what he was trained to do and he got called an assassin for it. Maybe Grogan should be called assassin, executioner or something similar. I hope he apologized to Stingley for unnecessarily ruining his life. Unfortunately, there are a large number of so called "journalists" (hacks) who either don't bother to do proper research or are not interested in the truth because it doesn't further their personal agenda (Dr. Z). RIP Stingley, it should have never happened.

Actually Tatum admitted in an interview that he intentionally hit him like that in an effort to intimidate him.

During Jack Tatum's career, I would have like to have seen him look in the eyes and take on New England's all-pro, John Hannah, as the guard led a sweep. I'm not talking about diving into his legs, either, but taking him on from the waist-up like a man. Tatum may have had those battles. I never saw one. Instead, like most defensive backs who intimidate, he preyed on lighter, defenseless receivers who concentrated on passes rather than defenders. Then he delivered a hit. That was part of his job. Most hits were legal and sometimes led to break-ups or fumbles, which were a good thing. However, they were hardly manly. After the tackle, I especially disliked the "standing-over-the-player-like-I've-done-something-special" form of intimidation as the receiver re-grouped on the ground. Anyone who understands football and basic physics knows that any punter can deliver these type of hits to un-knowing receivers. But, that was the standard then as it is now in NFL - intimidation. Tatum's goal line hit on Earl Campbell (often seen on NFL Films) is the only time I recall him taking on a bigger player (and Campbell scored.) His hit on Stingley WAS LEGAL but shameful. Had Paul Krause (Minnesota Vikings, HOF, NFL career interception leader) been playing for the Raiders that day, he would have played the ball without exception. Had he not intercepted it and knowing the receiver could not catch it, he would have slowed up. And Stingley would probably be alive today. Even if the hit was legal, an accident and not meant to intimidate, and considering the world that Stingley was left to live in, would anyone have conceived of writing a book about their own viciousness on the field under the nickname, Assassin?