Albert Haynesworth

Infobox NFLactive


name=Albert Haynesworth
currentteam=Tennessee Titans
currentnumber=92
currentposition=Defensive tackle
birthdate=birth date and age|1981|6|17
birthplace=Hartsville, South Carolina
heightft=6
heightin=6
weight=320
debutyear=2002
debutteam=Tennessee Titans
college=Tennessee
draftyear=2002
draftround=1
draftpick=15
pastteams=
* Tennessee Titans (2002-present)
status=Franchise Tag
highlights=
* All-Pro selection (2007)
* Pro Bowl selection (2007)
statweek=5
statseason=2008
statlabel1=Tackles
statvalue1=240
statlabel2=Sacks
statvalue2=20.5
statlabel3=Interceptions
statvalue3=0
nfl=HAY746506

Albert Haynesworth, IIIcite web|title=Haynesworth on Pro-Football-Reference |work=rbref.com |url=http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HaynAl20.htm |accessdate=2007-12-20] (born June 17, 1981) is an American football defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Titans 15th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee.

He often goes by the nickname Painsworth and is widely regarded as one of the league's most dominant defensive linemen. He is also known for stomping on the helmetless forehead of Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode in a game early in the 2006 NFL season.

Early years

He went to Hartsville High School in Hartsville, South Carolina, and was recruited to the University of Tennessee.

College career

Haynesworth played college football in the University of Tennessee. He has a history of issues with his temper. While a sophomore at Tennessee, he fought with a teammate and left practice, returning with a long pole looking for tackle Will Ofenheusle before coach Phillip Fulmer stopped him. He was suspended for a half of a game.

Professional career

Haynesworth was elected to the Pro Bowl for the first time for the 2007 NFL season. During this season following the stomping incident, he ranked second on the team with six sacks in his 11 games played up to the selection, led or tied for the team-high in total tackles three times this season, and led or tied the team-high in quarterback pressures five times. At the point where the pro bowl selection was made, the Titans were 8-3 in games in which Haynesworth started and 0-3 in games in which he did not play.

Haynesworth said of his Pro Bowl selection, "It’s an awesome feeling. It’s kind of a load off my back because I didn’t want last year’s suspension to define my career. It was a difficult time in my life, but I was determined to keep working hard to get to this point and earn the respect of my teammates, coaches and fans." Albert failed to sign with Tenneesse due to the deadline of signing a franchise tagged player. [ [http://www.titansonline.com/news/newsmain_detail.php?PRKey=5445 Tennessee Titans News ] ]

Personal

An incident occurred at a Titans training camp, where Haynesworth kicked his teammate, center Justin Hartwig, in the chest, and had to be restrained by other teammates. [http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-panthers-titans-haynesworth-hartwig&prov=ap&type=lgns Hartwig knows of Haynesworth's temper] ]

Arrest warrants were issued against Haynesworth in two Tennessee counties in May of 2006 stemming from a traffic incident on Interstate 40. Both sets of charges were dropped in June 2006. The Judge in the Putnam county case tossed the charges on the grounds that the alleged offense happened out of their jurisdiction. In Smith county, the district attorney dismissed the charges.

Stomping incident

The play

On October 1 2006, in the third quarter of a game against the Cowboys, running back Julius Jones scored on a running play. Center Andre Gurode fell to the ground, and his helmet was removed by Haynesworth. According to DallasCowboys.com columnist Mickey Spagnola [ [http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?editorialAuthor=1&id=0B7E6E03-CB7A-F0CF-054748FE721F0419 DallasCowboys.com - News ] ] , Haynesworth reached down and pulled off his helmet; in video evidence of the play, Haynesworth does indeed bend down towards Gurode prior to his helmet being off and prior to the stomps, although because the view is partially blocked by other players it cannot be seen whether he manually removes the helmet. ( [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwxMRPTsYeo video] ) However, most media outlets reported simply that Gurode's helmet was off.

Haynesworth tried to stomp on Gurode's head, but missed. A second stomp opened a severe wound on Gurode's forehead, narrowly missing his right eye. Haynesworth was hit with a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. In the midst of his protest, he took off his helmet and threw it to the ground, which led to another 15-yard penalty and Haynesworth's ejection from the game. [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-titans-haynesworthejected&prov=ap&type=lgns Yahoo! Sports - Sports News, Scores, Rumors, Fantasy Games, and more ] ] Gurode later received 30 stitches just above and below his right eye. After the game, Titans coach Jeff Fisher apologized on behalf of the Titans organization to Cowboys coach Bill Parcells.

Haynesworth apologized after the game, saying words cannot describe how he felt. He was quoted as saying "What I did out there was disgusting."

Aftermath

On October 2 2006, Haynesworth was suspended for 5 games without pay by the NFL. The suspension is the longest in NFL history for an on-the-field incident, more than twice as long as the previous record of 2 games. [http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/sports/football/15662345.htm] He forfeited around $190,000 [http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/TEN/9700907] in salary. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who had only been on the job a month, stated that there was "absolutely no place in the game, or anywhere else" for Haynesworth's behavior. However, ESPN's Mark Schlereth, a 12-year NFL veteran, felt that Haynesworth should have been suspended for the rest of the season. ESPN's Merril Hoge harshly criticized the officials for not ejecting Haynesworth immediately after the stomp. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2610631 ESPN - Punishment for Haynesworth not severe enough - NFL ] ]

Gurode later said that he will not seek criminal charges against Haynesworth. He is still (as of October 2006) experiencing headaches and blurred vision. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2615573 ESPN - Gurode accepts Haynesworth's apology - NFL ] ]

The NFL Players Association initially planned to appeal the suspension, calling it too severe. However, Haynesworth said on October 3 that he would not appeal, after personally apologizing to Gurode in the same day. In a press conference on October 5, Haynesworth apologized to all who watched the game and said he is starting counseling to control his emotions. He also said that he will work with children in the Nashville area.

Haynesworth was eligible to return on November 19 for the Titans' game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Even then, there was no guarantee that he would play. Fisher told Parcells after the game that the Titans would punish Haynesworth themselves if they felt the NFL's punishment wasn't harsh enough. On the same day as Haynesworth's press conference, Fisher told a national radio show that the Cowboys game may have been Haynesworth's last as a Titan. The team had the option of either deactivating him each week for the final seven games of the season or releasing him. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2615539 ESPN - Titans want Haynesworth to return bonus money - NFL ] ] Had the Titans released him, they had enough room under the salary cap to absorb the $5.5 million they would owe him for 2007. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2614453 ESPN - Haynesworth may face more punishment from Titans - NFL ] ]

Haynesworth's agent, Chad Speck, told several media outlets that Haynesworth fully expected to return to practice on November 13, and he did indeed report that day. He played against the Eagles on November 19, and recorded one tackle.

On September 9th, 2007, in the Week 1 game against Jacksonville, Haynesworth was called for unnecessary roughness when he slammed running back Maurice Jones-Drew to the ground after a tackle [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-haynesworthfined&prov=ap&type=lgns Yahoo! Sports - Sports News, Scores, Rumors, Fantasy Games, and more ] ] . He was fined $5,000 by the NFL for this incident. Afterwards, when asked if he would be gentler during play, he commented, "I'm not going to be any gentler or whatever. Maybe I'll just help them up."

References