Steelers/Sanders fined $50k

They were fined for the injury faking. Has this happened before, the fines for that? I guess that gamesmanship isn't allowed...

 

What a pile of

:bs:

 

Here is a copy of the letter that NFL VP Ray Anderson sent to WR Emmanuel Sanders and GM Kevin Colbert about the fake injury:

“Despite the account given by Sanders during our November 2nd meeting, neither the video sequence of the pertinent plays nor the observations of the on-field official support Sanders’s contention that he was in severe pain, either before, while falling to the ground, lying on the ground, or when he was being assisted in leaving the field.

“Moreover, after missing the one play that is mandatory pursuant to the playing rules, and receiving no apparent treatment, Sanders returned to the game for a fourth-down punt, on which he out-sprinted all of his teammates 26 yards down the field, arriving at the ball ahead of all other Pittsburgh players, and then downing the ball. The video of the play shows Sanders running swiftly and effortlessly toward the punted ball, and then leaving the field with no sign of discomfort.

“Sanders also played the rest of the game without difficulty. Finally, there is no indication that Sanders has had prior cramping issues while in the NFL, and no Steelers’ medical records or information of any kind were presented that would support a finding that he incurred a cramp that was both as serious and as transient as Sanders suggests.”

Anderson also referenced a memo sent to all clubs in September that said the issue of faking injuries has been frequently discussed by the Competition Committee.

Anderson said the Steelers were fined $35,000 because it was consistent with Commissioner Roger Goodell’s principle that clubs must be held accountable for the conduct of their employees.

“This fine does not suggest that the club, or any member of its coaching or administrative staff, has taught, suggested, instructed, or condoned the faking of injuries or any other competitive deception. If I believed that to be the case, the discipline would be substantially more. Instead, it reflects the commissioner’s strong view that it is the responsibility of the club to insure that its players are familiar with and in compliance with the league’s competitive rules.”

 

This is now the second time that the Steelers have been punished for things that hmmmm might have happened....maybe it did...maybe it didnt....when in doubt...fine and suspend

HACK

 

wonder what the rooneys response to this will be? Sanders can appeal can the rooneys?

 

I have a tough time with this one. It certainly seems rather obvious that the league is correct on this in that it was a fake injury. You can't argue with the reasoning they provide for believing it was faked.
And I have to agree that its BS for players to do it.
The fines that have entailed...meh, I don't know.

 

I'm fine with it. If you want to engage in behaviour like this to help your team during the game, then you're going to take the risk of getting your hand slapped. It is cheating, it's just a relatively minor form of cheating. Even still, if you cheat you risk getting scolded and that's what happened.

We'll never know 100% if he faked it or not, but I know this for a fact, if a player on the other team did what Sanders did, this board would have been up in arms calling for a flag, fine and/or suspension. It was very likely faked in order to save a timeout.

 

I see one problem with the fine. There was no real advantage by Sanders faking an injury so I would suspect without knowing emphatically that Sanders leg cramp was legit

Bman

 

Agree 100%

 

They benefited by stopping the clock without using a timeout.

 

Yeah but what I should have said is there was no reason for them to do that. They had the ball with the lead. Why would they need to fake injury to stop the clock?

If anything you would want to take more time off the clock. Additionally the defense can make changes by stopping the clock.. I never saw the game clock.. How much time was left on the clock?

Bman

 

If I recall everything correctly...Ben was shaken up a bit on the play and was slow getting up. Once he was up it looked like they realized they were not going to have the necessary time to huddle, get the play called and then get it off. So Sanders dropping down injured saved both a time out and an injury time out to Ben, which would have forced him to miss the next play.

 

Thanks Nitrous. Now its has become clearer why Sanders coincidentally cramped up to coincide with Ben being rattled and the game clock expiring lol

Bman

 

I forget, what was the other thing we were fined for?

 

Except the Giants had TWO players fall down at the exact same time and got nothing if I remember correctly....That was a CLEAR "fake" injury.

 

Actually, I thought it was a fake job when I saw it, and I also believe it was Ben's idea and not so much sanders, ben should pay sanders fine for him if he was the brains behind this skit, I call em like I see em, when the steelers are right i'm behind them all the way, but when they are wrong i'll call them on it as well.....

 

Yes, the Gaints were clearly faking it and if it happened after the NFL said they were going to crack down on fake injuries, you can bet that they would have been fined.

 

Absolutely, but that's exactly why the NFL is taking a stand on this stuff. The memo was sent after the Giants pulled that stunt. If that was to happen again where 2 players dropped simultaneously, I believe the fine would be in 6 figure territory.

 

I don't think Ben told him to do it, he knew what needed to be done and he did it. If Ben did tell him to do it, I'm sure he'll pitch in. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the whole team pitches in when guys get fined.

 

When Troy received his latest injury I had no idea he was hurt when it happened. It just looked like a normal play, nothing out of the ordinary, and he's been out for weeks. Obviously not the same situation, but maybe Sanders moved the wrong way and it kept him down for a minute or two and then he was OK. I know I can get a cramp in my leg and just flex it the other way and it's better almost immediately but it hurts a lot when I first get one. I think they should give him the benefit of the doubt and probably a warning.

 

Honestly, there are lots of times when a player is hurt, then is back in after one play out. Even for minor injuries, they are told to just get down and stay down. That way they don't screw up the team with substitutions. I think the reason this was an issue was because he limped off the field. Had he just gotten up and walked off slowly, no issue would have ever been made. But to limp to the sidelines, only to run back in after the next play led to the speculation.

 

HE faked it, got caught. It's not gamesmanship. It's cheating since the team was trying to manipulate the play clock. No way you can convince me it was a legit cramp.

 

Maybe we witnessed a real life miracle that Fall day. Sanders is a resilient young man.

 

just another reason to hate Godell, maybe Sanders faked maybe he didn't just makes me mad we somehow happen to be the first team ever fined for this just like another poster mentioned how Ben was the first player fined and suspended for violating the "personal conduct policy."

 

and now i'm reading deangelo hall only got fined 20K for his tirade with the official, but we get more come on!! Why weren't the Redskins team fined on top of it like we were?? based on "Roger Goodell’s principle that clubs must be held accountable for the conduct of their employees."