You're confusing result with intent. Was every hit Hines Ward put on a Ravens' player done with intention to knock them out? Was his hit on the Bengal player done with the intent to break his jaw? No and No. The same is true with Earl Thomas. Unless there is legitimate evidence that separates his act from those of Hines Ward and others. (There's not).
Was it an illegal play? yes. But, if
wanted to hurt Mason, he would have come at him entirely different. Head down (not up), launch earlier for a better trajectory, more coil in his body for a better launch, and so on.
As for other incidents. We don't have any of them on the Steelers, right?
Dan Rooney didn't stand up for James Harrisons' hitting the mother of his son by saying it was somehow less wrong because Harrison was picking up the son to take him to his baptism, right?
This organization didn't stick by Ben after 2 very separate accusations of rape. Right?
The Steelers aren't the ONLY AFCN team to have had legitimate fights with every other team in the AFCN in the last two years or so, right?
(Of course, there's legitimate excuses or reasons for all of those, right?)