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Randy Moss Fined $10,000
Minnesota's Randy Moss was fined $10,000 Thursday by the NFL for unsportsmanlike conduct during the celebration of his fourth-quarter touchdown catch last week in which he pretended to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd.
Moss also briefly bumped the goalpost with his back end before hugging teammates in the end zone after that game-clinching score in the Vikings' 31-17 wild-card playoff game victory over the Packers.
League rules mandate discipline for "obscene gestures or other actions construed as being in poor taste." A fine for the first offense under those guidelines is $5,000. Moss has not previously been fined for such action, but he paid a $25,000 penalty in 1999 for squirting an official with a water bottle.
His agent, Dante DiTrapano, argued that the fine was unnecessary.
"If you can't have freedom of expression on the football field, come on," DiTrapano said.
Peter Hadhazy, the league's director of game operations, issued the punishment in a letter to Moss that the NFL revealed in a news release announcing the fine.
"Your actions were based on poor judgment, did not reflect well on you or the Vikings, and were insulting to many," Hadhazy wrote. "They have resulted in widespread criticism and needlessly detracted from Minnesota's dramatic playoff victory. Fans should look to you and your teammates to see how to compete and win in football. But when you lose your focus on playing and engage in sideshows as you did on Sunday, you forfeit much of this."
In addition to the fine, Art Shell, NFL senior vice president of football operations, spoke to Vikings coach Mike Tice earlier this week by telephone to make clear the NFL's expectations for player conduct.
Last month, Denver quarterback Jake Plummer was fined $5,000 for an obscene gesture.
Moss, who had four receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's game, didn't practice with the Vikings on Wednesday because of a sprained right ankle but is listed as probable for Sunday's playoff game at Philadelphia.
Source: AP
Moss also briefly bumped the goalpost with his back end before hugging teammates in the end zone after that game-clinching score in the Vikings' 31-17 wild-card playoff game victory over the Packers.
League rules mandate discipline for "obscene gestures or other actions construed as being in poor taste." A fine for the first offense under those guidelines is $5,000. Moss has not previously been fined for such action, but he paid a $25,000 penalty in 1999 for squirting an official with a water bottle.
His agent, Dante DiTrapano, argued that the fine was unnecessary.
"If you can't have freedom of expression on the football field, come on," DiTrapano said.
Peter Hadhazy, the league's director of game operations, issued the punishment in a letter to Moss that the NFL revealed in a news release announcing the fine.
"Your actions were based on poor judgment, did not reflect well on you or the Vikings, and were insulting to many," Hadhazy wrote. "They have resulted in widespread criticism and needlessly detracted from Minnesota's dramatic playoff victory. Fans should look to you and your teammates to see how to compete and win in football. But when you lose your focus on playing and engage in sideshows as you did on Sunday, you forfeit much of this."
In addition to the fine, Art Shell, NFL senior vice president of football operations, spoke to Vikings coach Mike Tice earlier this week by telephone to make clear the NFL's expectations for player conduct.
Last month, Denver quarterback Jake Plummer was fined $5,000 for an obscene gesture.
Moss, who had four receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's game, didn't practice with the Vikings on Wednesday because of a sprained right ankle but is listed as probable for Sunday's playoff game at Philadelphia.
Source: AP