There was plenty of ugly in the Chicago Bears’ wild-card loss to the New Orleans Saints. But perhaps the ugliest was an inexcusable unsportsmanlike penalty on Bears receiver Anthony Miller, who threw a punch at Saints safety CJ Gardner-Johnson.
Both Miller and Gardner-Johnson have been fined for their role in the scuffle — Miller was fined $8,589 for unnecessary roughness and Gardner-Johnson fined $15,000 for unnecessary roughness.
#Bears WR Anthony Miller and #Saints CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson were both fined for the dustup that ended with Miller getting ejected from last week’s wild-card game. Miller: $8,589 for unnecessary roughness. Gardner-Johnson: $15,000 for unnecessary roughness.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 16, 2021
What made it even more inexcusable was the fact that Miller — and the entire team — were warned about Gardner-Johnson’s antics. Matt Nagy took 10-15 minutes to show highlights of Gardner-Johnson instigating things with different players. Bears players were warned, and Miller still reacted.
Miller was ejected from the game, which hurt due to Darnell Mooney’s absence with an ankle injury. It was the second time Gardner-Johnson has gotten a Bears receiver ejected from a game this season. He did the same with Javon Wims, who was suspended for two games.
Not that it’ll come as any surprise, Bears tight end Cole Kmet was not fined for flipping the ball at an official, something he was flagged for as the refs believed he was tossing it at an opposing player.
Meanwhile, #Bears TE Cole Kmet was not fined for viciously flipping the ball softly to an official. https://t.co/JAt8MYwu04
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 16, 2021
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