One clash too many for Titans' Fat Albert

America at Large: It wasn't as if you couldn't see this coming. Four years ago, when Albert Haynesworth was a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, he got into a practice-field dust-up with an offensive lineman named Will Ofenheusle.

Although Haynesworth stood 6ft 6in and weighed 320lb, we can only assume that the Ofenheusle lad got the better of it, because after the two had been separated by coaches and team-mates, Haynesworth returned to the scene of the crime, armed with a big knotty stick, which he had to be restrained from using on his team-mate.

When he declared himself eligible for the 2002 NFL draft a year later, Haynesworth loomed a likely top-five pick, but the troubled behemoth fell to the Tennessee Titans (in the 15th position) when other teams shied away, citing "maturity" issues. (In addition to l'affaire Ofenheusle, there had been at least one domestic disturbance requiring the intercession of the Knoxville constabulary).

Whether because he felt he could straighten him out or whether he thought the Titans were just a thug or two away from returning to contention remains unlearned, but head coach Jeff Fisher successfully lobbied to take Haynesworth anyway.

Even before the events of last weekend, it was clear that this noble experiment in rehabilitation was a doomed exercise. In training camp last year, Albert kicked a team-mate, centre Justin Hartwig. Earlier this year, Haynesworth was charged in a road rage incident when he allegedly tried to run another car off the road on Interstate 40 in Tennessee.

In any case, Roger Goodell didn't have to think very hard about this one. Less than 24 hours after the Tennessee defensive tackle was kicked out of a game on Sunday for using his cleated foot to stomp on the unprotected face of an opponent, the new NFL commissioner slapped Fat Albert with a five-game suspension and a fine that will top $190,000 - the most severe punishment for an on-field incident in league history.

And oh, by the way, Haynesworth says he's sorry.

It may have been the most flagrant act of unsportsmanlike conduct since Zinedine Zidane's head-butt in Berlin last summer, and while there weren't as many eyewitnesses, Haynesworth's foot-mashie has been replayed on television so many times over the past three days that it's fast catching up.

The act of blatant thuggery occurred early in the third period of the winless Titans' 45-14 loss to the Cowboys in Nashville on Sunday afternoon. Dallas running back Julius Jones had just scored on a five-yard run when an apparently frustrated Haynesworth put the boot to the head of Cowboys' centre Andre Gurode, who was flat on his back at the time.

Gurode's helmet had come loose in the scrum, and Haynesworth's first kick knocked it right off his head. Then, for good measure, he stomped him in the face, inflicting wounds that required 30 stitches to close.

Game officials initially threw a flag and penalised the Titans 15 yards for unnecessary roughness. Only when Haynesworth reacted violently to the punishment, throwing down his helmet and cursing, did the zebras do what they should have done in the first place and eject him from the game.

A television broadcaster working the Cowboys-Titans tilt, former Colts and Ravens' nose tackle Tony Siragusa, described Haynesworth's assault as "cowardly" and "an embarrassment". Another former player, Cris Collinsworth, said on NBC that Haynesworth should by rights have been arrested on the spot and led off the field in handcuffs.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher said he was "shocked and appalled", and termed his player's action "unacceptable". "Football is not a violent game," said Fisher. "It is an aggressive game that combines speed, strength and power. But most importantly it is a game that demands respect. To me, the respect factor was violated by Albert, not only with the Dallas player but also with the officials."

Universal condemnation was quick. In an unusual step, the Metro Nashville Police Department issued a communiqué in which they volunteered to assist Gurode should he opt to pursue criminal charges against Fat Albert.

All of this sounds well-intentioned enough, but the question here would be: why is everyone so surprised? If anything, Haynesworth's action was almost predictable.

After Sunday's game, Haynesworth, who had had nearly an hour to collect his thoughts in the locker-room, described his rampage as "disgusting" and "senseless".

"That's not how the game is supposed to be played," he said. "I let the team down because I got kicked out. I'm not apologising because I got caught. I'm apologising because of what I did. It still makes me sick. I feel like I disgraced the game, disgraced my team and disgraced my last name."

No sooner had the five-game suspension been announced than the NFL Players Association, in a knee-jerk reaction, signalled its intention to appeal the punishment. In what may have been his most rational moment of the week, Albert Haynesworth elected to take his medicine, and told the players' union thanks, but no thanks, and that he had no intention of appealing.

Haynesworth even phoned Gurode on Tuesday to apologise, but it would appear that there are some continuing anger-management issues that need to be resolved here between now and November 19th - the date Fat Albert will be eligible to return to the line-up for a road game against the Eagles.

By then, by our calculations, the Titans could well be 0-8.