National Football League fines John Harbaugh
The National Football League announced on Tuesday that they have fined Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh for his actions against an official during the Ravens 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati
Bengals on Sunday. Harbaug’s verbal and physical contact with the official will net him a fine of US$15,000.
Harbaugh had made contact with line judge Ron Marinucci after Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs hit Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, which led to a roughing-the-passer penalty. Harbaugh
had hit Marinucci in the chest to demonstrate where he felt Suggs had hit Palmer.
On Monday, Harbaugh admitted that he crossed the line during a press conference, but did not feel his actions would warrant a fine or disciplinary measures.
"I was a little animated in describing the strike zone, and I think he understood the emotions of it," Harbaugh said. "I'll make sure that I let him know that I think I was over the line
in my animation without question, and that's never something you want to do.
"And the point is we had great conversations with those guys throughout the game. We disagreed and it was animated, but it was respectful throughout. And I know Ron understood that it
was respectful, so it should be OK."
Mike Pereira, the former NFL vice-president of officiating also expressed his thought on the matter and felt that the officials had made an error.
"While referees are instructed to err on the side of safety when it comes to protecting the quarterback, I feel the call was incorrect," Pereira said on FOX. "Suggs made a form tackle
on Palmer. And while he did land on top of him, he did not appear to unnecessarily or violently throw the quarterback down and land on top of him with most or all of his weight, which is what the rule states. I can see why the referee made the call that he
did, but to me, it was a normal tackle and not a foul."
The Ravens were planning to submit game film on what they felt were questionable calls throughout the game and wanted clarity even before the fine was levied.
"I think the league does a good job," Harbaugh said. "I think they work really hard to make us understand what the officials are looking at and all that stuff. They do the best they can
with it. It's a tough job. It's not easy. We just move on. It's not something that we're going to sit there and worry about. They'll do the best they can to get better, and we'll do the best we can to get better."
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