Tulloch got what he deserved

Stephen Tulloch, a line backer on the Detroit Lions, has torn his ACL, the anterior cruciate ligament, an injury which will cost him the entire 2014 National Football league season. He hurt himself after a sack of Green Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers when he tried to mock the downed Packer with a mimic of the 'discount double check' catchphrase from Rodgers' State Farm Insurance ads, itself a mimic of Rodgers own 'championship belt celebration'. But hey, Tulloch was just celebrating. He isn't embarrassed by how he injured himself.

Well, he should be. He just cost himself a season and the Lions a pile of cash for which they will not be properly compensated. He may also cost the Lions a playoff spot. And he also cost the fans, who effectively pay his salary, from having the best possible Lions defense on the field.

But he's not embarrassed. Everyone celebrates a good play, and that's all he was doing.

Well, no, that's not all he was doing. A celebration is a yell, a high five, a pat on the helmet from another player. A real celebration usually comes when a game is over and done and not while it is still undetermined. Tulloch was grandstanding. He was mocking another player rather than letting his tackle speak for itself. What he did was unsportsmanlike and not mere celebration. Short of the injury, he ought to have been, as every instance of mockery or the disrespect of an opponent ought to be, flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.

But he's not embarrassed. That attitude above all indicates that maybe he deserves what he got. We're wont to believe it.