Vikings running back Dalvin Cook is being punished for throwing a football into the stands, but he’s keeping a good sense of humor about it.
The NFL originally fined Cook $7,426 for throwing the ball into the stands. But according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the NFL will reduce that fine to $5,941 -- but only if Cook completes an online remedial training course.
That sounds fairly ridiculous: What kind of online remedial training course does Cook need to take to tell him not to throw the ball into the stands?
Cook mocked the punishment on Twitter, where he repeatedly wrote the sentence “4 will not throw football in the stands after touchdown” as if he were a schoolchild having to write the same sentence over and over as punishment. (He refers to himself as 4, for his jersey number, on Twitter.)
Cook added, “In all seriousness kids stay in school don’t break rules!”
The NFL fines players for throwing the ball into the stands because of concerns that it could cause a crowd control problem. The NFL does not fine player for simply handing the football to one individual fan. That rule will presumably be part of Cook’s online remedial training course.