Vince Young continues to revive a career once thought dead. The third-overall pick in the 2006 draft had a fantastic rookie season, suffered through injuries and inconsistent play the next two years, and finally got a second chance after head coach Jeff Fisher begrudgingly benched 36-year-old Kerry Collins last month.
Young has started four games, the Titans have won each time, and after losing six straight to begin 2009, Tennessee is suddenly respectable. And maybe that's why referee Jerome Boger high-fived Young after he led the Titans to a Monday Night win over the Texans.
Except that, according to the NFL, it wasn't Boger's intent. Via the Houston Chronicle:
"It was not Jerome Boger's intent to exchange a high-five with the player," the [NFL] spokesman said. "It began with the referee making the proper administrative signal and resulted in the appearance of an inappropriate action.Grainy video of the incident:
"As Vince Young took a knee on the game's final play, Jerome Boger jogged in with his right arm in the air to signify the play was over. That is the proper administrative signal for the referee.
"As Young turned around, he saw Boger approaching the line of scrimmage with his arm raised. "As Boger moved toward the line of scrimmage, he started to bring his arm down. However, before he lowered his arm, Young, moving towards the referee, raised his own arm and the two exchanged what appeared to be a quick high-five," the spokesman added.
To quote Michael David Smith at ProFootballTalk.com: "So just because their hands were raised and their palms made contact, that does not constitute, in the official opinion of the NFL, a high five."
I can't tell you how many times throughout the course of the day that I accidentally high-five people. It happens.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
What is the big deal if the game was over. Geesh you need a life with this article.
If this were a traditional white guy handshake at the end of a game it would not have been a problem,but two black men showing respect with a high five is unexceptable.
a typical reponse of a black ref to an african american doing well. why not!
when players beat their chests and dance after a score and end up loosing the game, don't they feel like fools or is it they don't care if they win or lose?
how can you actually mis spell lose and (losing) loosing in the same sentence?
So how come absolutely nothing was made of Brett Favre doing almost the exact same thing (except more of a side five) on at least two occassions? Vince Young is under a microscope, and it's not just because of his play.
Can you cite the time and place that Brett Favre exchanged high fives with an official?
It is a racial thing. The ref high fived a Brother. He would have never high fived a white man.
Now the NFL has to make sure the ref never works another game involving Vince. Any close call he gives to the Titians would draw huge calls of cheating.
What he did was not appropriate and you can bet the head ref of the NFL has made that clear.
Glad to see Vince doing well. He was a Hoss at UT and is an exciting player to watch.
Go Colts!
Why has the video been pulled?
i coached kids football in the 70's and i told my players they could celebrate when they scored, but they had to do the same thing if they fumbled, dropped a pass or missed a block, funny how short the conversation was
Vince Young is a runner not a quarterback. Every play he took off running because he does not have sense enough to read defenses. What was his wonderlic score taken by NFL prospects? The lowest score ever recorded.
Vince Young is a runner not a quarterback. He is not smart enough to read defenses. He takes off running every play. What was his wonderlic score given to NFL prospects? The lowest ever scored by a quarterback. The equivalent of a 4th grade IQ.
Ken Ken why be a hater. Tim Tebow is doing the exact same thing and they say he is THE BEST quarterback of all time. You do know Tim Tebow right? He the qb for the Florida Gators, he has the MOST RUSHING td's by a qb. Rushing=Running. This is to easy. Man get a life. Stop showing your hate. Happy Turkey Day, sir.
WHO CARES!!!
Why is it that race becomes a factor in EVERY AOL conversation again? Did I miss the memo?
I know and worked with Jerome while he was comming through the ranks of the SIAC and SEC. He is one great person -
I know the dead ball signal - and Vince just reacted ti Jerome's hand in the air
Guess the $$$$$ was on Houston, eh!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The NFL is sooooooo rigged!
If it was a 'High-5' between Vince Young and the ref so what? Get a life folks! Personally I thought it was cool for a player and a ref to 'salute' each other for a job well done. I'm sure the ref would've 'high-fived' one of the Texans just as easily. So move on!
This is a silly story.