Ex-UK linebacker Danny Trevathan’s vicious hit draws outrage on social media

In the third quarter of Green Bay’s 35-14 win over Chicago, a hit by Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan on the Packers’ Davante Adams drew outrage across the country via social media.

Trevathan, former linebacker at UK, was called for a personal foul for the helmet-to-helmet blow to the head of Adams, which left the wide receiver motionless on the ground. Adams was taken to a hospital for evaluation, though reports said he did have feeling in all extremities. Adams gave a thumbs up sign as he was taken off the field on a stretcher.

Trevathan said after the game there was no malicious intent on his part.

“You never wish that on nobody,” said the linebacker. “You never want to see that. But this game is physical and it happens. Hopefully (the NFL) can see my half of it.”

Trevathan also said he would reach out to the Packers’ Randall Cobb, his former teammate at Kentucky.

On Twitter, however, the reaction was swift and unsparing:

Meanwhile, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post wrote that the NFL needs to adopt college football’s targeting rule.

“There is a ready-made model the NFL can use,” said Kilgore. “The NFL should borrow from, if not outright duplicate, the collegiate targeting rule. When a player is called for an illegal hit to an opponent’s upper body, he is flagged 15 yards and ejected; if the hit happens in the second half, the offender also misses the first half of his next game. All targeting calls are reviewed on replay, to ensure an innocent tackler or blocker isn’t thrown out.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2017 at 7:13 AM.