Former NFL star Anthony Barr warns of ‘slippery slope’ that could come with tush push ban

The man who some believe came up with the “tush push” is warning the NFL not to ban the practice, now most associated with the Eagles. 

Former Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr told TMZ that it would be a “slippery slope” if the NFL decided to make the “tush push” illegal. 

“It’s a slippery slope,” Barr told TMZ while walking through LAX. “You ban one play, then what’s next?”

The former footballer joked he knew it would be as huge and successful as it’s become and “that’s why I brought it up.” 

The Eagles’ success with the strategy has made it one of the more hotly debated plays in football and has drawn a motion to make it illegal. 

The Packers were the ones to officially put a rule change on the docket at the league’s annual meeting in Florida and the change would “prohibit an offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap.”

A penalty would be handed out to any team that violated the proposed rule. 

ESPN reported that 16 teams had voted to ban the “tush push” before the NFL opted to table the vote to a later date. 

Part of the thinking behind banning the tactic is over safety concerns, which former NFL center Jason Kelce pushed back on during his podcast, “New Heights,” last week. 

He argued it would be a “hard rule to enforce” and that the safety issue was a bit overblown. 

“Just from the health aspect, I see people misusing my quotes. Like the play sucks to run, but it sucks because of the exersion,” Kelce said. “It’s not going to be a play where you’re going to see this huge increase in chance of risk of injury. Some people think it’s more of a rugby play. 

“I’m tired of the back and forth with it,” Kelce added. “If you’re going to ban it, just ban it.”