Alvin Kamara’s spectacular Christmas cleats should be remembered only for good. The New Orleans Saints’ RB equaled an NFL record with six touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings. People donated to charity.
And then the NFL decided to play Grinch as only it could. Welcome back, No Fun League, where players go to work despite a COVID-19 pandemic and put themselves at risk.
Yep, Alvin Kamara was fined $5,000.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLa-dHSDNFY
“If they fine me, whatever it is, I’ll just match it and donate it to charity,” Kamara had said to reporters after the game. You know, the one where teams were made to play on Christmas rather than be with their families.
Kamara tied an NFL record with six rushing touchdowns Friday, becoming the first player to rush for that many touchdowns in a game since Ernie Nevers in 1929. Kamara, Nevers, Dub Jones (1951, and Gale Sayers (1965) are the only players to score six touchdowns in a game. He finished with 22 carries for 155 yards and six touchdowns in the Christmas win, and he leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns (16) and total touchdowns (21).
Meanwhile, the fantasy football folks have come up big for a charity:
Son of a Saint, an organization that mentors boys who have lost their fathers because of death or incarceration, said it has received $21,000 so far from nearly 400 donors.
“We are especially grateful to Alvin for selecting Son of a Saint as his charity of choice,” said founder Bivian “Sonny” Lee III, son of the late Saints defensive back Bivian Lee. “As an organization, we turn 10 years old at the strike of midnight, so this makes the generosity even more meaningful as we kick off 2021.
“People, they’re strong about this fantasy football throughout the whole year. … I don’t want to even echo some of the stuff that they’ve messaged and tweeted, stuff like that. But it’s good to see people keep their word and they’re willing to donate,” Kamara said to ESPN. “I don’t know how much you play fantasy football for; I’ve never played it. … But it’s going to a good organization. I’m just blessed to be able to help Son of a Saint at the same time.”
This isn’t the first time the league has fined Kamara for his Christmas spirit.
From 2017:
While showing off his fine letter from the NFL on Thursday, Kamara said the shoes were worth the fine, adding that he was planning a GoFundMe fundraising effort for a charity.
“I’m gonna find like a charity, maybe something that gets shoes for underprivileged kids or maybe something like a little league team out here that needs some cleats and donate the rest of the money to a team or something like that,” he said, according to an ESPN report. “I mean, the Grinch stole Christmas.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blqFZtnLgFM
If you would like to donate to Son of a Saint, click here.