Sources: Tempers flare in tense tush push debate

Debate implicit the tush propulsion led to a heated speech betwixt NFL owners and league executives Wednesday greeting during the league gathering successful Eagan, Minnesota, aggregate sources with firsthand cognition told ESPN.

The treatment occurred during of what is called a "general session," which is attended by owners and squad and league executives.

Philadelphia Eagles proprietor Jeffrey Lurie made an impassioned code successful defence of the play. The Eagles and the NFL declined comment, but sources adjacent to Lurie told ESPN that helium had seen reports from earlier successful the time that the tush propulsion was going to beryllium banned, and truthful helium figured the likelihood of the play's endurance were long.

Toward the extremity of a code that lasted adjacent to an hour, Lurie made an analogy, telling the country that careless of whether the play was banned, it was a "win-win" for the Eagles, adding that it was "like a bedewed imagination for a teenage boy" to make a play that was truthful palmy that the lone mode for it to beryllium stopped was for it to beryllium banned."

After Lurie finished speaking, enforcement vice president of shot operations Troy Vincent chastised the Eagles proprietor for the "wet dream" comment, specifically for saying it successful beforehand of women successful the meeting.

Lurie spoke for respective much minutes, adding that whoever voted to prohibition the play would beryllium taking liability for putting quarterbacks astatine risk. He criticized NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Vincent for advocating the ban, adding that helium had spoken to NFL main aesculapian serviceman Allen Sills astatine magnitude astir the play.

Eagles adjunct wide manager John Ferrari and erstwhile Eagles prima halfway Jason Kelce, presently an ESPN analyst, addressed the country next. Kelce said that helium would instrumentality to the NFL if helium could tally 60 tush pushes a game.

Dallas Cowboys proprietor Jerry Jones asked a fewer questions, portion Buffalo Bills proprietor Terry Pegula -- a professional of the tush propulsion -- said his squad was bully astatine the play and inactive supported banning it.

An hr had passed erstwhile San Francisco 49ers proprietor Jed York asked Lurie "how overmuch much s---" helium needed to say.

There were a fewer scattered laughs, but the country was quiescent and tense. Goodell past adjourned to the "privileged session," which is attended by owners and apical league executives. The ban failed by a ballot of 22-10, falling 2 votes shy of the 24 needed to prohibition it.

Multiple league sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that Eagles officials walked retired of the country "not knowing what to expect" and figured voting could spell either way.

The Eagles acceptable retired Wednesday to code the conception that the tush propulsion led to injury, with 1 root telling Fowler that "there was nary data" to suggest the play was unsafe.

One of Kelce's talking points was to dispel the rumor that helium retired due to the fact that of the tush push, sources told Fowler. Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II said Kelce's position was that the tush propulsion "is a harmless play, not thing we request to interest astir that much."

Rooney besides said Kelce whitethorn person swayed teams that were undecided connected their vote, adding that much teams could clasp the tush propulsion during their offseason practices, present that the play is not going away.

Perspectives connected Kelce's interaction connected the voting varied, however, arsenic 1 root told ESPN's Brooke Pryor that the erstwhile Eagles center's code was "generic." Other sources described a "spirited" speech sparked by Kelce.

When Jones pointed retired imaginable issues with the play, Kelce said helium understood wherever the Cowboys proprietor was coming from and agreed connected immoderate of the points. Multiple sources noted to Pryor that it was refreshing to perceive astir a regularisation and its interaction from a player's perspective, and it could pb to much players weighing successful connected important imaginable regularisation changes.

"Any play that's retired of the mean gets other scrutiny due to the fact that of the competition," Jones told Fowler. "That's the amusive portion of having these meetings, and present we are -- the satellite champion is the main absorption of the tush push, and present we are debating it and having to decide, 'Am I truly against the tush propulsion oregon bash I conscionable privation Philadelphia to [not] person an edge?' And I beryllium determination and combat that, too."

Jones acknowledged to Fowler that helium tends to "flip-flop" connected the contented but added that aft watching movie with Kelce, helium admits that the Eagles' "offensive enactment prowess is impressive."