Brian Mullan is probably not a bad person. In comments after Friday's game, he looked emotional over his horribly mistimed, poorly executed and, frankly, reckless tackle that broke Steve Zakuani's leg. But Aaron Campeau, of SB Nation's Seattle Regional site, points out that Mullan's intentions should not be what determines his penalty:
Intent Matters, But Severity Of Steve Zakuani’s Injury Matters, Too
I don’t wish to demonize Mullan; while I don’t think that his post-game comments seemed to indicate legitimate contrition I am also willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in that he didn’t believe that a tackle that was intended only to win back possession could have ever caused such a horrific as the one suffered by Zakuani. It’s a fine line between empathy and sympathy, and while I do recognize that Brian Mullan must be feeling quite awful at the moment I do not feel bad for him in any respect. Mullan’s recklessness must be punished by the league and punished harshly, because while the intent to injure might not have been present the tackles was abhorrent and the end result a severe injury to the player on the receiving end.
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