Suspended Broncos safety Kareem Jackson to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to get more clarity on player safety rules
Broncos safety Kareem Jackson plans to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in New York on Thursday to discuss his latest suspension and to get more clarity on why he has been disciplined numerous times this season for player safety issues.
Jackson told several reporters on Tuesday night at a charity event for Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II that he would fly Wednesday to New York for the meeting. He told KMGH-TV, channel 7 on Wednesday that the meeting will be on Thursday.
“I’m not really sure why I’m being treated the way I’m being treated,’’ Jackson said Tuesday at Surtain’s “Inspire the Dream Gala,” an event in Denver benefiting disadvantaged youth. “I’m making regular football plays, nothing malicious, in my opinion. I just want to know why I’m the only person going through what I’m going through.”
Jackson was suspended last week by the NFL for four games for repeated violations of player safety rules and must sit out three more games. Jackson’s latest suspension came after he led with his helmet on a Nov. 19 hit on Minnesota quarterback Josh Dobbs that wasn’t penalized.
Jackson previously this season for hits has served a two-game suspension and been fined $89,670 for incidents in four other games. He has been ejected from two games.
“For me, I see a lot of the same things happening around the league where guys aren’t going through what I’m going through, no flags, no fines, no suspensions,” Jackson said.
The NFL declined to comment Wednesday on Jackson’s planned meeting with Goodell.
Jackson, a 14-year veteran long known for his aggressive play, told reporters two weeks ago after his two-game suspension was over that he had reached out to NFL officials to get “clarity” on what needs to do on “bang-bang” plays with tackling form but that he didn’t get any sufficient answers.
“There’s no clarity, a lot of gray area,” Jackson said Tuesday. “I asked them a ton of questions and told them I’ll be in the same situations. How am I supposed to play or how am I supposed to go about these situations?”
That is why Jackson said he would meet with Goodell.
“So, hopefully, something comes from this meeting. I don’t think much will, because I don’t even think they know,” he said. “At this point, I feel like I’m the poster child for whatever they’re trying to get across or prove.”
Jackson said he also would talk to Goodell about why suspended players are not allowed to go the team facility. He called that “extremely hard.”
“For the league to advocate for mental health, but, you know, to cut a guy off from everything?’’ Jackson said. “You can’t come into the building. You can’t cold tub and all that kind of stuff in the building. I mean, you can’t tell me that you care about the guys and then you cut them off. What if I don’t have a support system, you know? So, it’s a lot of things they’re saying and doing that’s contradictory, in my opinion. So, hopefully, I can get some clarity.”





