Oh Yeah, That’s Fair

Three Buccaneers were fined from last week’s game against the Cowboys. Ronde Barber was hit for $7,500 for his horsecollar tackle on Marion Barber. I guess it’s fair since it was pretty deliberate, although if he’s going to have to pay the bill for it, there should have been some a torn ligament or two involved. And, as it turns out, taking off your helmet carries the same weight as a horsecollar tackle since Jeremy Trueblood was also fined $7,500 for removing his helmet after the Bucs failed to convert that last fourth down, ending the game. I wonder if it’s a standard fine for removing any part of your uniform on the field. Because $7,500 would totally be worth it to pull your pants down and wave your dick at the line judge for a bullshit holding call if it was third-and-long anyway. Come on, Jeremy. Show ‘em white guys can hang with the best of them.

But the real motherfucker is the $5,000 Cato June was fined for what really amounted to getting angry. After he and Marc Columbo got in a shouting and shoving match, June was well off of him and flailed his arms in exasperation. It wasn’t a punch. Every time a guy a guy throws his arms around isn’t a punch just like every time a guy stomps his feet on the ground, he isn’t trying to crush someone’s throat. It was a total bullshit penalty and it’s even more of a bullshit fine since they’ve had time to go over it. I rewound that flag about a dozen times and never saw the big deal. Referee Gene “Adolf” Steratore should find a nice curling match to call if he’s not interested in seeing any emotion on the field of play.

Hey, want a little salt for that wound? June’s public display of emotion cost him $5,000 while LeRoy Hill’s helmet-to-helmet hit on Ike Hilliard a couple weeks ago never got him fined. Hill was expecting it, which means he seems to know he crossed the line on that play, but the NFL thought otherwise. My conclusion: The NFL hates the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and wants to see them fail. Look, I’m not saying to throw batteries at the officials next time you go see a game. But I’m not not saying it, either.