League office slaps Baltimore Ravens Ed Reed with $55K fine over Victor Cruz hit – NFL News
Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed is pondering upon the choice to plea overturning of $55,000 fine he has been slapped with by the National Football League (NFL) over his hit on New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz in the game between the two sides on
Sunday (Dec. 23).
Although the player is lucky second time to have escaped a possibility of suspension, circles closer to him said the safety is not happy over the amount of fine, which he thinks is hefty. He nevertheless is still indecisive about filing an appeal to try
getting it overturned, they said.
Reed hit Cruz in the head and neck area, and although experts had projected him skipping the ban, the $55K fine is not pleasing for him. The player has been penalised despite his defence about his speed, which he claimed to have lowered to avoid the hit
but could not manage it at the end.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh had also defended Reed, saying the player had lowered the speed to an extent but avoiding hitting Cruz altogether or changing point of contact was difficult at that speed.
This is second time in the season that the safety has been fined to such an extent. Earlier, he was imposed a penalty of $50K fine over a hit on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Reed originally had been suspended for a game then but got
his suspension overturned and paid the fine, much to his displeasure.
He had criticised the league office for imposing the hefty fine of $50K, saying that could have complicated him in financial difficulties. In line of his those remarks, it is expected that he would go into appeal, but he is yet to offer his comments about
the latest penalty.
Independently, some commentators think it is less likely that the player will get his fine overturned or slashed, although the latter choice looks rather a realistic possibility.
It is pertinent to note that the regulator’s office has raised the benchmark of fines, especially for those hits, which potentially can cause concussion or another injury of this serious nature to opponents.
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