I'm sure all of you have seen the video of Dashon Goldson and his fight with Cardinals wide receiver Early Doucet. For the record, I'd take Goldson in a fight between the two - mostly he probably has Patrick Willis backing him up - but folks keep throwing around the word "suspension." Most are asking if it's a possibility and the reality is that, yes, it is a possibility, but it's not a likely one.
For one, just a week ago, the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears got into a huge fight that saw both benches spill onto the field. Matthew Stafford threw down D.J. Moore, who got up and hit Stafford, and started the fight. Neither of those players actually even received penalties for "fighting." They were given loose definitions of unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct. But the league didn't even define that as fighthing.
Last year (or maybe the year before that), Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson and Cortland Finnegan got into something that can really only be classified as a fight. Neither of them were suspended. Now this happened with Goldson, and I'd really be surprised if he gets suspended. For one, he has no history of things like this and for two, the league will be able to see that Doucet started it.
Retaliation is never acceptable, but it should absolve him of a suspension. However, seeing as how I've been writing about the Lions an awful lot lately, I know that the minimum fine for "fighting" in the NFL is $25,000 and I fully expect both of the players to get the fine. Both players could be assessed further fines for other conduct relating to the fight, as well.
And now, eight minutes before this post is set to go live, we've got word that the league doesn't plan to suspend Goldson. Any fines should be expected on Friday.