NFL news: Andre Johnson and Cortland Finnegan fined $25K each for brawl
Everyone has been awaiting disciplinary action for both the Tennessee Titans’ Cortland Finnegan and the Houston Texans’ Andre Johnson for their fight on Sunday during their game, which led to ejections for both of them.
The National Football League has finally decided on their punishment. They have fined both Finnegan and Johnson $25,000 for their fight, with no suspension.
There are no further details available at this time, including warnings.
It is known that Finnegan had been warned previously this year for his rough tactics and many other things that he has done on the field. But head coach Jeff Fisher and Finnegan were on the phone with the league’s head office trying to explain their position,
while Johnson was pretty contrite about the fight, saying that he was willing to accept whatever punishment the NFL would impose upon him.
There is a fine schedule for fighting in the NFL. The first time a player fights, he is fined a minimum of $7,500. A second time offender is charged a minimum $25,000.
Now, these figures are minimums. The league could have gone above these numbers and even included suspension into the punishment, which is why most people are waiting for a clear explanation as to the factors and reasoning behind the punishment.
Most believe that both Johnson and Finnegan deserved more severe punishments, especially as far as suspensions go.
Tennessee’s Finnegan started the brawl in Sunday’s loss to Houston by punching at Johnson’s face mask and neck at the line of scrimmage. Johnson retaliated by ripping off Finnegan’s helmet and punched him at least twice in the neck and head. Finnegan pulled
off Johnson’s helmet before referees and players intervened and broke up the fight.
"He kept doing little things and I told him: 'Just because you're frustrated, you need to stop what you're doing,'” Johnson said. "I guess he thought it was funny."
"Did I want it to escalate into that? Absolutely not," Finnegan said Monday on a radio show. "The only thing that upsets me ... if you reverse that and it's me, I'm not at the radio show. I'm sulking because I got a game suspension. But you twist it and
it's because it's me."
"It's just a buildup of things over plays," Johnson said. "I just lost my cool."
"At a point, he snapped and started throwing blows," Finnegan said of Johnson.
Finnegan knew not to punch Johnson, saying, "You do that and you're suspended, hands down."
"At the end of the day, I guess he got his money's worth," Finnegan added.
Luckily for both Johnson and Finnegan, they will play in their games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively.
Tags: