Austin Booker never had a reputation for being a dirty player, going back to his college days. Sure, he played hard, but never with the kind of style that drew the anger of opponents. Yet one hit seems to have turned him into the football version of Darth Vader. It came in the rematch between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers when a tackle attempt by Booker saw him crash helmets with quarterback Jordan Love. The collision gave Love a concussion, knocking him out of the game.
Packer fans screamed it was intentional and called for Booker to get ejected. They feel it was a dirty hit and have been crying about it for over two weeks now.
One fan decided to take it a step further, though. He stated that Booker is no different from former Packers defensive end Charles Martin.
For those too young to know the name, Martin played three seasons in Green Bay from 1984 to 1986. He was an average player at best, but he developed a reputation as one of the league's most notorious headhunters. His most infamous moment came when he picked up and bodyslammed quarterback Jim McMahon on the Soldier Field turf after a play, aggravating a shoulder injury that ruined his season.
Calling Austin Booker the same as Charles Martin is delusion of the highest order.
Martin was a dirty player long before he got to the NFL. He was known for hitting ball carriers late in high school. That reputation continued through college and into his pro career. Hell, the guy was literally cut by the Packers the next year because he got into a bar fight. He was the worst of the worst. Those who look closely at his uniform would've seen a towel on his waistband listing apparent jersey numbers. It was found out later that those were the numbers of specific Bears players he was tasked with trying to knock out of the game.
Putting Austin Booker in the same category as that clown is laughable. Was his hit on Love a penalty? Absolutely, and he was rightly fined for it. Yet to call it intentional is ridiculous. Every replay showed that Love tucked his body and lowered his head before contact, which led to the collision. It's not like Booker came in high. If anything, it is telling that Green Bay fans are letting that play affect them so much. Maybe it is indicative of something deeper going on.
