Ever fake being sick for a day off? It probably did not cost you $15,000.
The NFL announced on Friday that it has fined the Pittsburgh Steelers and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders for faking an injury in the Oct. 21 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Sanders went down with what was called a cramp only to return after one play and participate in the rest of the game.
Sanders was fined $15,000 while the Steelers organization were fined $35,000 for the incident.
“Despite the account given by Sanders during our November 2nd meeting, neither the video sequence of the pertinent plays nor the observations of the on-field official support Sanders contention that he was in severe pain, either before, while falling to the ground, lying on the ground, or when he was being assisted in leaving the field,” NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson said in a letter to the Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and Sanders.
“Moreover, after missing the one play that is mandatory pursuant to the playing rules, and receiving no apparent treatment, Sanders returned to the game for a fourth down punt, on which he out sprinted all of his teammates 26 yards down the field, arriving at the ball ahead of all other Pittsburgh players, and then downing the ball.”
According to Anderson the league does not believe that the Steelers have coached players on how to fake an injury. If there had been evidence suggesting the Steelers had done this then the fine would have been more.
Seeing players down to stop the clock seems to be common place in the NFL but the injury fake by Sanders has to be one of the worst ever.
The NFL and NBA both have been cracking down on flopping in recent weeks.
