National Football League fined three players on Wednesday who were involved in a number of injurious collisions during the Sunday games, especially in helmet-to-helmet hits.
The decision came after a review of the current NFL rules and regulations regarding discipline and intentional injuries inflicted on players of the rival teams. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement that the league would ratchet up discipline for violation of players' safety rules.
The first casualty of the new rules was Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison who was fined $75,000 because of knocking out two Cleveland Browns out of their game. The league found one hit within the rules and the other one constituted a penalty but was missed by the game officials. He was earlier fined $5,000 for pushing Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young to the ground as he tried to sack him.
New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather was fined $50,000 as he committed a major foul on Sunday when he launched himself into Baltimore Ravens tight end Todd Heap while the latter was trying to make a catch.
Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson was also fined $50,000 for inflicting a concussion on Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson through a violent hit; he was also injured in the process.
NFL Executive Vice President Ray Anderson sent a letter to each of the fined players with a warning that “future offenses will result in an escalation of fines up to and including suspension.” Some criticized the NFL for talking big and doing little as Anderson had earlier said that players could face immediate suspensions on helmet-to-helmet hits.
