ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The NFL is eliminating the hip-drop tackle.
NFL team owners on Monday unanimously approved a rule that bans players from using a swivel technique to tackle an opponent.
A violation will result in a 15-yard penalty and could ultimately result in fines for players.
NFL executive Jeff Miller said the hip-drop tackle was used 230 times last season and resulted in 15 players missing time with injuries.
The NFL Players Association has adamantly opposed the rule.
“It doesn’t get used very often, but when it is used, it’s incredibly injurious to the runner,” NFL Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said. “The runner is purely defenseless. And I have heard defenders say it before, and I hear them, ‘Hey, you’re putting me in a really tough spot. You’re saying I can’t hit here. What do I do?’ And my response has always been, ‘Well, you can’t do that, and that’s just because the guy you’re hitting is defenseless and has no way to protect himself.’ So we’ve got to protect him and you’ve got to come up with other ways, and you know what, they do.”
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