From the moment video began to circulate on Sunday of Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones showing the New Jersey state bird to Jets fans at MetLife Stadium, it was obvious that the NFL would impose a financial punishment.
And Jones was fined $250,000 — despite his laughable claim that he meant to give a thumb’s up instead.
It happened sixteen years after the league fined the late Bud Adams, founder of the Oilers/Titans, the same amount for firing off a double-barreled middle finger during a game against the Bills.
Beyond Jones’s bizarre contention that his fingers essentially have a mind of their own (hey, who hasn’t accidentally flipped someone off when attempting to make a very different gesture?) is another strange-but-true fact. When Panthers owner David Tepper was caught on camera deliberately throwing a drink on fans during a game in Jacksonville two years ago, he was fined only $300,000.
With Jones appealing his punishment, maybe he should ditch the wayward-digit argument and argue that the punishment isn’t proportionate to Tepper’s fine for throwing a drink on a customer.
In hindsight, Tepper’s punishment was ridiculously low. People give other people the finger all the time. It’s a victimless crime, especially when done in jest. (And, based on the video, Jerry looked to be simply having some boys-will-be-boys fun.) Throwing a drink on someone is a significant insult, especially since the liquid potentially carries germs or viruses or other nasty stuff that made its way from the drink-thrower’s mouth into the drink before the drink was hurled onto someone else.
Also, why does Jones even care about the fine? He’s a multi-billionaire. Not long ago, he expressed defiance regarding the rule against directly negotiating with players who have agents, and he basically said, “Go ahead and fine me.”
Now that he’s been fined the paltry (for him) amount of $250,000, the boss move would be to pay it in, as Randy Moss once said, “straight cash, homie.”
