NFL Announces Fines for Johnson and Finnegan

By Gabriela Moore
Nov 30 2010

This morning the NFL announced that former US Pro Bowlers Andre Johnson and Cortland Finnegan will receive $25,000 fines each for their taking part in a public fight during last Sunday’s game.

Johnson and Finnegan were involved in a brawl on Sunday afternoon. The two men ripped off each other’s helmets and starting hitting one another in the head after which the officials ejected the two players.

Today the NFL announced that the men would have to pay $25,000 a piece for the incident. The league has recently cracked down hard on violence in the game, hoping to silence the protests that the game is too violent.

It was a surprise to most in the league that the league leaders did not issue a suspension. However, for Johnson this is the first such incident in his career. But, Finnegan has been fined four times this season for his less than moral playing tactics.

Finnegan admitted that the fight started because he was taunting Johnson during several plays on the field. However, he said that he was completely surprised when Johnson just “snapped” and started to swing his fists.

As of right now both men are free to appeal the decision by the league. But, the team owners have the right to issue sanctions if they so choose. Still, it is highly unlikely that the teams will issue any sanctions against two of their best players.

Johnson has since apologized for his part in the fight.