A little under two weeks after blasting the officials following a 20-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson is reportedly not going to appeal the $25,000 fine that the NFL handed him on Sunday, Nov. 5.
According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio’s, Johnson will pay the fine and move forward.
“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Johnson has decided not to appeal the $25,000 fine imposed against him last week for criticizing officials after a Week 8 loss to the Jaguars,” Florio writes for Pro Football Talk Thursday morning, according to nbcsports.com.
Johnson, who had eight catches for 85 yards in the loss to the Jaguars, fired away at officials after the loss, telling reporters that the officiating crew, led by Alan Eck, wanted the Jaguars to win the game, and that calls against the Steelers “cost us the game.”
Johnson also stated that the officials “must’ve got paid good today or something” after the loss to the Jaguars.
Calls in the game that went against the Steelers included a roughing-the-passer call on safety Keanu Neal on a textbook tackle against Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence and an uncalled roughing-the-passer penalty on Jacksonville’s Adam Gotsis that knocked Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett from the game. Then an offsides call on guard Isaac Seumalo on a 56-yard field goal late in the first half, led to kicker Chris Boswell missing from 61 yards, taking three points off the board for the Steelers right before the half.
“They cost us the game,” Johnson said about the referees. “They wanted them to win, they was calling, everything was in their favor. They were getting every little call. But it is what it is.”
Ironically, following the Jaguars game, Gotsis was fined $7,167 for his hit on Pickett, even though it went uncalled, while Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt was fined $16K for making contact with Lawrence’s facemask while batting a pass down.
According to Florio, Johnson declined to appeal the fine because of the appeal process, with the league handling it.
“One reason to not appeal comes from the procedure employed. Fines of this type don’t fall within the joint procedure created by the NFL and the NFL Players Association,” Florio writes for Pro Football Talk. “Instead, the league controls the appeal. Given what Johnson said, there was no way around the fine. Especially with the league calling the shots.”
So, Johnson will move forward with $25,000 less in his bank account, though he garnered admiration from Steelers fans for his honest words, saying what everyone was seemingly thinking coming out of the loss.
