The ‘tush push’ lives on. NFL teams vote to keep the controversial play
The “tush push” is here to stay.
An effort to ban the controversial football play failed to get enough votes among the NFL teams gathered in Minneapolis Wednesday, with the Philadelphia Eagles among the first to announce the news with a two-word post to X: “Push On.”
A proposal by the Green Bay Packers earlier this year would have barred any player who receives the snap from being pushed forward by one or more of his teammates. NFL owners tabled the proposal during a meeting in April.
But this week the Packers submitted an updated and more far-reaching proposal, which would prohibit offensive players from pushing or pulling a runner “in any direction or at any time” or lifting him “to his feet,” according to an article on NFL.com. That hews closer to former NFL rules, the article said.
The proposal lists “player safety” as one reason for the rule change, though no teams have shown evidence that the play is unsafe, according to the article. The proposal also lists “pace of play” as another basis for the plan.
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters in March that he supported banning the play, even though his team had run a version of it in the past. “I think this is something that needs to be discussed and we need to be proactive about it rather than reactive,” he said.
The effort to ban the play has faced pushback from teams that regularly employ it, perhaps none more successfully than the Philadelphia Eagles. The squad’s high-profile use of the move has led to its other moniker: the Brotherly Shove.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni rejected the argument that the tush push leads to automatic yardage gains, instead saying that the team’s success with the play comes from the fact that they work on it.
“I can’t tell you how many times we practiced the snap, we practiced the play, because it’s not a play that’s easy to practice. There’s different ways we figured out how to practice it,” Sirianni said during a press conference earlier this year. “It’s a little insulting to say we’re good at it, so it’s automatic. We work really hard at it.”
The Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40 to 22 in this year’s Super Bowl.
U.S. military troops on standby for possible deployment to Minnesota
The move comes after President Trump again threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to control ongoing protests over the immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream … about health care
A doctor from Nigeria tells what Martin Luther King Jr. taught him about health, Justice and inequality.
Sunday Puzzle: It takes two
Ilyse Levine-Kanji of Westborough, Massachusetts plays the puzzle with Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz and host Ayesha Rascoe.
Venezuela: Maduro’s enforcer Cabello still central to power
The ousting of Venezuela's president raised hopes of change — but the politician now controlling the streets shows how little has really shifted.
Amid ICE clashes, New Hampshire bishop urges clergy to prepare their wills
The Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire told priests protesting ICE to get their wills and affairs in order. Some praise the bishop, while other priests say they never signed up to be martyrs.
New York Giants hire John Harbaugh as coach after identifying him as their top choice
Harbaugh joins the Giants 11 days after he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens. The Super Bowl champion is now tasked with turning around a beleaguered franchise.
