When an assistant coach stands on the sideline and not-so-subtly puts a knee into the direction of the opponents’ gunner, he gets suspended for the rest of the year and fined $25,000. (When it turns out that he lied about the question of whether he instructed others to line up on the sideline to limit the gunner’s room, the suspension became indefinite.)
When a player leaves the bench area and moves toward the sideline and punches the gunner, he gets fined only $15,000.
Per the Associated Press, the league imposed the fine against Brayton on Friday. Earlier today, Jay Glazer of FOX revealed video of the incident.
Regardless of the fact that the penalty paled in comparison to the sanction imposed on Jet coach Sal Alosi, the decision to fine Brayton only $15,000 for an intentional and deliberate and clearly illegal blow at a time when players are being fined $50,000 for unintentional blows to the head will provide another basis for confusion at a time when the league needs players to buy in to the new approach to in-game safety.
