I love the NFL. I love the physicality of the sport, the passion of its players and the natural abilities of everyone on the field. The NFL possesses some of the most gifted athletes in the world and their talents impress fans nationwide every Sunday.

Lately, though, the NFL has bothered me. Two weeks ago, there were big hits all around the league. Brandon Meriweather’s hit on Todd Heap, James Harrison’s two hits on Mohamed Massaquoi and Josh Cribbs, and Dunta Robinson’s hit on DeSean Jackson all resulted in fines. These hits were endlessly talked about on every major television and radio station for the past few weeks. Everyone talked about how “dirty” the plays were and how violent the league has become.

Hold on one second. Timeout, two left.

Look up the term “contact sport” online. It states that it’s “any sport in which physical contact between players is an accepted part of play, such as football, boxing, or hockey.”

The key word in that definition is “accepted.” Let’s continue this vocabulary lesson. “Accepted” is defined as “usually regarded as normal or right.”

So why, I ask, is a physical sport like football – where hitting, and hitting hard, is not only part of the game but an “accepted” part – becoming more of a “let’s all be safe and have fun” sport?

The NFL has to look out for the safety of its players; I understand that. If you watch those hits though, you will see that only Meriweather’s hit deserved a fine, as it was just a cheap shot. The league states that players aiming at the heads of defenseless players with the intent to hurt deserve fines.

Hold on again. Timeout, one left.

Answer me this. How is the NFL going to be able to tell what’s on a defender’s mind as they approach a wide receiver over the middle of the field? Why, after so many years of bone-crushing tackles are we making a big deal out of this now?

I know why. Because on this particular weekend, there were multiple instances of the same hits and everyone freaked out. I applaud the NFL for making player safety an important issue, but they already have done a great job of keeping their players safe, especially quarterbacks.

I watched three NFL games this past weekend and saw major changes in how defensive players approached tackling. Harrison was the most noticeable for me, as he did his best to avoid the big hit.

“I started to go in there and hit him, but it looked like he might have been sliding down sort of like the same situation with Massaquoi,” Harrison said. “I didn’t want to jump in there on that play. The next time, they’ll probably suspend me.”

So this is what our beloved NFL is now coming to; great defenders backing off tackles because they are afraid that if they go in at 100 percent, they will come out owing $100,000. It’s a disgrace, a contact sport where too much contact is frowned upon. Before too long the NFL will be the NFFL, the National Flag Football League. Can’t wait to see what they do about the cheerleaders and their skimpy outfits. Parkas and snow pants anyone?

Timeout, none remaining. Leave the cheerleaders alone.