Do as we say, not as we profit from.
Like Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz, who was fined $14,926 for a forbidden celebratory dice roll, Broncos receiver Jaylen Waddle was fined the same amount for the same celebration on the same play.
The moment came after Waddle caught a third-quarter touchdown pass in Denver’s eventual win over the Rams. The description of the infraction in the league’s weekly announcement of fines is "[i]llegal celebrations and vulgar acts.”
It the latest example of the NFL’s sudden return to its No-Fun-League ways. Indeed, the NFL had no issue with former Steelers receiver Martavis Bryant pretending to roll dice after scoring a touchdown in 2017 — and that was before the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for legalized sports betting and the NFL decided to abandon its loathing of gambling and open its arms to grab as much cash as it can.
This season, the league is grabbing cash from players for doing things that used to be OK. Undoubtedly, the players will aggressively appeal.
The only good news is that the fine money, if collected, goes to charity.
