Linebacker Ernie Sims plans to appeal fine
The NFL doled out another major fine on Thursday, 4 November, and this time the league hit Philadelphia Eagle Ernie Sims. However, the apparently disgruntled linebacker seems willing to put up a fight. According to the Associated Press (AP), Sims plans to
appeal the league’s $50,000 penalty, a fine he deems “outrageous.”
Sims, a fifth-year starter out of Florida State, was fined in relation to a 24 October hit that he laid upon Tennessee Titans wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins. In a statement released by the NFL, Sims was said to have been found guilty of “unnecessarily striking
a defenceless receiver in the neck and head area with his forearms.” Nevertheless, Sims was perturbed by the league’s decision.
“I really, really hate the fact that I got fined $50,000,” the linebacker told the AP. “I don’t care how much money you make, that’s a ton of money, money I worked hard for my whole life. Just for anybody to take it away from me for something that I do on the
field, I just think it’s crazy. But this is the league that I play in and I’ve got to respect that, so I’m just going to go out there and keep playing football.”
Part of the league’s logic behind the fine might have to do with the fact that Sims’ collision occurred away from the play’s primary action. Sims, who was initially chasing Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins on the play in question, claims that his hit on
Hawkins transpired because the linebacker was simply looking to make a play.
“I just took the initiative to go ahead and take him out,” Sims said. “In their eyes, I was hitting a defenceless receiver. In my eyes, I felt like I was making a play.”
And, although he may not be happy with the punishment the NFL has handed down, Sims asserts that he’s not going to curb his energetic style of play.
“I’ve been playing this way a long time, just throwing myself around and trying to hit as hard as I can,” he said. “That’s just the type of player I am, aggressive. That’s just the way I play football.”
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