Eagles’ Linebacker Plans to Appeal “Outrageous” Fine

By Jesse Rousseau

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Ernie Sims plans to take action against the $50,000 fine the NFL placed on him Wednesday.

The five-year veteran was punished for a hit on Tennessee wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins in the 2nd quarter of the Eagles’ 37-19 loss to the Titans on October 24th. According to the official league statement, Sims was guilty of "unnecessarily striking a defenseless receiver in the neck and head area with his forearms."

Sims reacted to the fine on Thursday, calling it “outrageous”, amongst other things.

"I really, really hate the fact that I got fined $50,000," he said. "I don't care how much money you make, that's a ton of money, money I worked hard for my whole life. Just for anybody to take it away from me for something that I do on the field, I just think it's crazy. But this is the league that I play in and I've got to respect that, so I'm just going to go out there and keep playing football."

When recalling the incident, Sims says he was looking at Titans quarterback Kerry Collins, and did not even see Hawkins until Collins was about to throw the ball. He feels like he was just trying to make a play, not taking out a defenseless receiver.

However, this isn’t the first time Sims’ play has grabbed the NFL’s attention. He was fined for unnecessary roughness the past two seasons, while playing for Detroit. He said the league is "probably" making an example of him, but he does not plan to change the way he plays.

"People know me by now," he said. "I've been playing this way a long time -- just throwing myself around and trying to hit as hard as I can. That's just the type of player I am -- aggressive. I like hitting. It's fun to me. That's just the way I play football."