Tag: Penalty

23XI Racing won’t appeal race-manipulation penalty

23XI Racing did not file an appeal of the penalty issued Tuesday for being involved in manipulating Sunday night’s elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. “After internal deliberations, 23XI has decided not to appeal NASCAR’s decision to penalize …

23XI Racing did not file an appeal of the penalty issued Tuesday for being involved in manipulating Sunday night’s elimination race at Martinsville Speedway.

“After internal deliberations, 23XI has decided not to appeal NASCAR’s decision to penalize the No. 23 team,” a team statement read. “We disagree with the penalty ruling and strongly believe we did not break any rules at Martinsville. It is our conclusion that it is in our best interests, and those of our team members, partners, and fans, to fully devote our personnel and resources this week toward the championship and not an appeal.”

NASCAR announced its penalties Tuesday night with 23XI Racing being one of three teams who were docked points, fined, and issued suspensions. Bubba Wallace crew chief Bootie Barker and spotter Freddie Kraft will not be with the team this weekend for the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

It was a 50-point deduction and a $100,000 fine each to the driver and the team.

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Kraft did not give Wallace specific instructions over the in-car radio but did update his driver on the situation with Toyota teammate Christopher Bell and other playoff contenders. Barker also discussed the situation on the team’s channels. With a few laps to go, Wallace reported that he thought he had a flat tire.

Wallace slowed at the white flag and nursed his Toyota to the finish. Bell, meanwhile, passed him for a position he needed going into Turn 3. It put Bell into a tiebreaker with Byron, which he would have won and made the Championship 4. Subsequently, NASCAR deemed Bell drove against the wall in Turn 4, which is an outlawed move.

The penalty to 23XI Racing fell under member conduct, which includes race manipulation and actions detrimental to stock car racing.

Tyler Reddick will compete for the Cup Series championship on Sunday for 23XI Racing.

The appeals of Trackhouse Racing and Richard Childress Racing will be heard Thursday.

Nathan Shepherd fined for controversial hit on Justin Herbert

The NFL has fined Saints defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd for his controversial hit on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in Week 8:

The New Orleans Saints continue to have players fined this season, as defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd was fined $11,817 for unnecessary roughness against Justin Herbert when he attempted to tackle him by the legs while the ball was already out of his hands. This tackle attempt was most definitely not a good look, and the fine is within reason considering the circumstances. In addition to this, Los Angeles Chargers center Bradley Bozeman, who jumped onto Shepherd in defense of Herbert, was not fined for this situation.

The Saints have had quite a few fines this season, including Alontae Taylor and Marshon Lattimore who received fines for unsportsmanlike conduct (violent gestures), Khristian Boyd and Trevor Penning for late hits (unnecessary roughness), and Derek Carr for unsportsmanlike conduct as well. Shepherd now adds to that tally as they continue to build up their total allocations, 50% of which will go to the Professional Athletes Foundation.

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NFL admits mistake on penalty against Steelers on Sunday night

Mike Tomlin got his apology from the NFL on a blown call.

The most outstanding part of Sunday night’s blowout win by the Pittsburgh Steelers might have been the play of their special teams. Pittsburgh blocked two kicks, although the one by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was negated by a penalty. The officials said Fitzpatrick used players for leverage to go up and over the line of scrimmage.

It only took one look at the replay to see that was a bad call. Fitzpatrick vaulted the line of scrimmage and barely made contact with anyone on his way to the football. On Tuesday when head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media, he said the league notified him and he got an apology for the missed call.

 

Fortunately, this blown call had no significant impact on the outcome of the game. The Steelers beat the Jets handily 37-15 to improve to 5-2 on the season.

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Saints should make a big change at cornerback after blowout loss

The Saints must make big changes to end their losing streak. They should start by benching Paulson Adebo for rookie draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry:

The New Orleans Saints must make big changes to end their four-game losing streak, but where should they start? Head coach Dennis Allen isn’t going anywhere so the changes need to begin on the field. And with starting cornerback Paulson Adebo setting a new career-high in penalty yards, it’s time rookie second-round draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry get a shot.

Adebo’s 101 penalty yards this season are a career-high, and that’s with two of his penalties being declined (he’s never had multiple fouls declined in a single season before). He gave up 76 penalty yards as a rookie in 2021, 73 penalty yards in 2022, and just 27 penalty yards in 2023, but now he’s fallen back into bad habits. That regression must come with consequences.

And the team can’t afford his boom-or-bust play style. It’s a great thing that Adebo leads the defense with 3 interceptions and 10 pass breakups. On top of the penalties, he’s getting beat in coverage. Pro Football Reference charting has him with 30 receptions and 527 yards allowed. Only one other defender has given up more than 400 yards this year, and that’s Benjamin St-Juste at 402. The gap between Adebo and St-Juste is as wide as that between St-Juste and DeMarvion Overshown, whose yards allowed rank 16th-most.

Let’s check another outlet. Pro Football Focus has Adebo with 33 catches and 426 yards, so they’ve charged some big gains to other players. But Adebo’s 426 yards allowed are still the most in the league. Even if you assign blame to another defender in the secondary here or there, he’s still getting beaten far too often and for too many big gains.

Those mistakes extend to other phases, too. PFF charged Adebo with missing four tackles against the Buccaneers last Sunday, putting him at six misses on the season. PFR was more forgiving and had him with just one missed tackle this year, but there are often disagreements on stats like these. Either way the image of Chris Godwin shoving a stiff arm into Adebo’s face mask so he could pick up 7 more yards from deep inside Tampa Bay territory stands out.

Will McKinstry be a better fit? Maybe, maybe not. It’s worth finding out. Adebo was given a big opportunity to help himself in a contract year, coming off his best season as a pro, but he blew it and the Saints’ season is going down with him. They can’t keep doing what they’re doing after giving up 594 yards from scrimmage and allowing 51 points to be scored on their heads, extending a losing streak to four miserable weeks. The Saints drafted McKinstry for a reason. See if he can hold his own and let Adebo earn back his spot in the lineup after being at fault on so many negative plays.

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Veteran Chiefs defensive lineman fined for unnecessary roughness penalty

Kansas City #Chiefs defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton fined for unnecessary roughness penalty | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive line has been successful throughout the team’s undefeated start to the season. Their aggressive play in the trenches has made them a quarterback’s nightmare and, in some cases, led to disciplinary actions from the NFL.

Chiefs starting defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton was fined $11,817 for an unnecessary roughness penalty during last Monday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints. The penalty was called by officials in the 4th quarter when Wharton slapped the facemask of New Orleans offensive lineman Lucas Patrick.

During the second half of the Week 5 game, Wharton also tallied a sack on Saints quarterback Derek Carr. The 26-year-old is a two-time Super Bowl champion after going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Missouri S&T.

Wharton is off to an excellent start to the season and is second on the Chiefs in sacks with 1.5. The fifth-year defensive lineman chose to stay in Kansas City in the offseason, signing a one-year deal. He, alongside All-Pro Chris Jones, is a dominant duo in the middle of the line at defensive tackle.

Marshon Lattimore, Alontae Taylor both fined for ‘violent gestures’ vs. Falcons

Marshon Lattimore and Alontae Taylor were both fined for ‘violent gestures’ during last week’s game with the Falcons:

Two New Orleans Saints defensive backs were fined for committing unsportsmanlike conduct against the Atlanta Falcons last week. A league review found that Marshon Lattimore and Alontae Taylor made “violent gestures” with their hands.

Lattimore was cited for mimicking a firearm after Paulson Adebo intercepted Kirk Cousins with 4:59 left in the first quarter, which cost him $14,069. Taylor was fined $10,916 for the same thing about a minute earlier after he broke up a pass intended for Drake London. The difference is due to an NFL rule which requires these fines to be no more than  10% of the player’s weekly salary cap hit. Both players have the option to appeal.

If you’re curious about where the money collected in these fines goes, here’s the explanation from NFL Operations:

The fines collected are donated to the Professional Athletes Foundation to support Legends in need and the NFL Foundation to further support the health, safety and wellness of athletes across all levels, including youth football and the communities that support the game.

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Trevor Penning fined $11,255 for unnecessary roughness vs. Eagles

Trevor Penning was fined $11,255 for unnecessary roughness against the Eagles. The Saints’ right tackle fell back into bad habits, and it cost him:

It wasn’t enough for Trevor Penning to cost his team 15 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles. The NFL came calling with an $11,255 fine for unnecessary roughness after he drove Eagles cornerback Darius Slay out of bounds and into the New Orleans Saints’ bench.

This was the kind of play Penning was criticized for coming out of college, and he had done a good job avoiding them after turning pro. But this was an instance where he fell back into bad habits. It was a dumb play that injured Slay, and bowled over one of Penning’s coaches who couldn’t get out of the way in time on the sideline. And it ended up costing him.

You want guys to play to the whistle, and right tackles like Penning are often tasked with setting that tone. But there’s a time to dial it back. In this case it’s the moment when Penning’s coaches are waving and shouting at him to back off before crashing into the bench.

As for the football impact? This penalty wiped out a 5-yard run that converted a 3rd-and-4, moving the ball from the Philadelphia 39-yard line back into New Orleans territory at their own 46. It took a big effort from Penning’s teammates to keep the drive alive and end it with a touchdown,  but it would’ve been much easier if he hadn’t lost his cool.

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson lost half his Saints game check in fines to the NFL

C.J. Gardner-Johnson lost half of his game check from Week 3’s win over the Saints in fines to the NFL. That’s some expensive trash talk:

You don’t see this very often. Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was fined three times by the NFL for his actions in Week 3’s win over the New Orleans Saints, losing half his game check for an illegal hit and two taunting infractions. He was a little too eager to get after his old team for his own good.

It had previously been reported that Gardner-Johnson was being fined for unnecessary roughness; he made a late hit on Saints running back Alvin Kamara after the play went out of bounds, and that came up to $11,255. But a league review found two instances of Gardner-Johnson crossing the line in taunting his opponents, which cost him two charges of $16,883 each.

Add that up and it’s $45,021 coming out of Gardner-Johnson’s paycheck. He has a base salary of $1,375,000 this year, per Over The Cap, which comes up to 17 weekly game checks of about $80,882 each (before taxes). So Gardner-Johnson really lost a little more than half of his game check because he was too hot under the collar. That’s some expensive trash talk. For his sake, it’s a good thing the late touchdown he gave up to Chris Olave didn’t cost Philly the game on top of it.

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NFL assigns John Hussey to referee Week 4’s Saints-Falcons game

Referee John Hussey and his crew have been assigned the Saints’ Week 4 matchup with the Falcons. New Orleans is 20-5 with him on the field, and 9-2 as head referee:

The New Orleans Saints referee assignment for Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons has been set, and this time it will be John Hussey, per Football Zebras. Hussey most recently refereed a game for the Saints late in the 2023 season with their Week 18 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. In that game, his crew threw eleven penalty flags for 90 yards, eight of which came against the Saints for 75 yards.

It is worth noting that Hussey has a slight favor for away teams through three weeks, calling 17 penalties against the home teams and 12 against the visiting teams. This season he has called 29 total for 288 yards, three of which were declined and two of which were offsetting. His 29 penalties are the third-fewest of any referee crew this season, and his 288 yards are the ninth-fewest of any crew this season as well.

As for his history with the Saints all-time, Hussey has helped 25 games for the team, and in those matchups the Saints have a whopping 20-5 record. For the games he has refereed between the Saints and Falcons, the Saints are 3-0. Hussey was promoted from line judge to referee in 2015 and the Saints are 9-2 since then (and 2-0 against Atlanta). Overall, it is a good sign that the Saints have had a shot with him leading this week’s officiating crew, so we will see if that translates in Week 4 or has any implications.

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NFL has gotten millions of views promoting Derek Carr’s TD celebration

The NFL has gotten millions of views promoting Derek Carr’s TD celebration on social media. They thanked him for it with a $14,069 fine:


This isn’t a good look for the NFL. The league has gotten millions of views promoting Derek Carr’s touchdown celebration against the Dallas Cowboys on social media, complete with an explanation for why he paid tribute to the late “King of Pop” Michael Jackson. Then the NFL thanked the New Orleans Saints quarterback for creating this highlight reel moment with a $14,069 fine.

On TikTok alone the clip has been viewed more than 267,000 times. It’s created even more engagement on Instagram with more than 1.6 million views. It’s since spread far and wide across the Internet as evidence that this 2024 Saints team is different from what fans have had to watch in recent years. And, sure, it’s a great clip. In his postgame press conference Carr joked that he borrowed Jackson’s choreography to remind his kids and younger teammates that he has some dance moves.

At the same time, the people issuing fines from the league office in New York are not the same people editing videos to post online every Sunday. Of course they’re going to react differently when a player grabs his crotch after scoring a touchdown and laughs about it after the game. But that doesn’t make this any less hypocritical. Company policy should be standard across departments. Either outlaw gestures like this (Carr wasn’t penalized for it during the game, by the way) or let it slide and get those clicks, reactions, and impressions online. Not even the NFL should get to have its cake and eat it too.

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