The Sports Xchange

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett has been fined $17,363 by the NFL for a high hit to Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith.

The hit occurred in Kansas City’s 14-13 win last Friday. Bennett was flagged for roughing the passer. After the game, coach Pete Carroll called the penalty “legit” — although it was clear the contact was incidental.

In a radio interview on 710 ESPN on Tuesday, Bennett decried the penalty: “I hit Alex Smith with a routine hit, a routine hit, and I get flagged. I’m like, ‘What? What else should I do? Should I just touch him like that? Is he going to be down?'”

That complaint was part of a larger rant about overpaid quarterbacks who whine about being hit.

“Quarterbacks get protected more than any other player,” he said. “I mean, he gets hit in his knees and he’s about to cry, making a whimpering sound: ‘They hit me in my legs.’ Everybody gets hit in their legs. Every play somebody tries to hit me in my legs. So what makes him different? … He gets up with a sad face like the world just ended because he got hit. I mean, you got hit in an NFL game. Who cares? Get back up and be like, ‘Good job.'”