The NFL fined Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens over $16,000 on Saturday for unsportsmanlike conduct during the team’s last game. He pointed at a defender who’d missed a tackle attempt on him as he crossed the goal line to complete a 66-yard reception for a touchdown.
RB Jaylen Warren may want to brace for another letter himself. Having already been fined multiple times for infractions that were not flagged during games for illegal use of the helmet, he could find himself with a letter accusing him of taunting as well.
Like Pickens, Warren couldn’t help but gesturing as he raced into the end zone, in his case an 18-yard run in the first quarter. As he crossed the goal line, he flashed the peace sign at Seattle Seahawks DB Quandre Diggs. The Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill and the Baltimore Ravens’ Odell Beckham Jr. have each been fined for the same thing earlier this season.
Now, before you go shooting the messenger, I can assure you that the NFL was already aware of this and isn’t going to make a decision about fining him based on me pointing it out. FOX showed the replay of him flashing the peace sign as the broadcast headed into halftime, which is where the header image was captured. And you can see him start to wave at Diggs at about the 7-yard line once he recognizes he’s clear to the end zone before transitioning to the peace sign. Waving is also taunting.
And none of the other unsportsmanlike conduct taunting infractions mentioned above were flagged in-game, either. The NFL goes over these things for some reason every week, looking for things to fine. Sometimes the league reduced or rescinds the fines upon appeal.
The NFL Rulebook never defines taunting in detail, to the best of my knowledge. It’s simply included in Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 (c) under Unsportsmanlike Conduct: “Using baiting or taunting acts or words that may engender ill will between teams”. And the league already set the precedent for flashing the peace sign at an opponent in this context as a taunt that “may engender ill will between teams”.
Unfortunately for Warren, compared to most NFL players of his achievement, he can’t afford not to care as much. As a second-year player on an undrafted rookie contract, he’s comparatively not making much. By the rules of the CBA, he can’t negotiate a contract until after his third season, either. So his first opportunity to make “real” NFL money won’t come until 2025.
If he is fined another five figures for this infraction, it will take a decent chunk out of his weekly paycheck, a shame considering the work he put in. Just shy of 100 yards from scrimmage, including 75 rushing and a touchdown on 13 carries, plus 23 receiving yards on three catches. He is already over 1,000 yards from scrimmage on the year.
The good news is that as fans there isn’t much reason for us to care. It’s not our money, which goes to charities anyway, and Warren is still making quite a bit this week either way. I don’t fault any fan in the slightest if they don’t feel a great deal of sympathy when an NFL player gets fined, even if they think the fine is stupid. One thing it certainly isn’t, though, is fun. The No Fun League indeed.
