NFL fines Saints DT Jalen Dalton following taunting penalty vs. Ravens
The NFL fined #Colts RB Benny LeMay, #Ravens CB Chris Westry and #Saints DT Jalen Dalton $3,667 each for unsportsmanlike conduct after each received taunting penalties last week.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 21, 2021
New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Jalen Dalton was one of three players to receive a $3,667 fine from the NFL office on Saturday after they were each penalized for taunting in last week’s preseason games. Dalton, 24, is playing on a contract with no guaranteed dollars after recovering from a torn biceps muscle last summer. Now he has to forfeit some of the money he’s been working for, along with one of his opponents in Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chris Westry.
Neither player did anything illegal, harmful, or otherwise very notable. But that’s not stopping members of the NFL competition committee like New York Giants owner John Mara from stepping in.
“We get kind of sick and tired of the talking that does go on from time to time on the field,” Mara complained during a recent press conference. “We tried to balance the sportsmanship with allowing the players to have fun and there’s always a fine line there, but none of us like to see that.”
That’s presumably fueled by his own frustrating gameday experience full of opponents taunting the bad teams he’s built (Mara’s most recent coaching hires have gone a combined 29-51, with one year of double-digit wins and four consecutive seasons of double-digit losses). If Mara had done a better job hiring coaches and executives he wouldn’t have had to languish with so many losing teams, nor rivals jeering them on and celebrating Big Blue’s downfall.
Instead he and other incompetent owners are throwing their support behind an effort to take more personality out of the most popular sport in America and make their air-conditioned view from a luxury suite more palatable. And the players actually working, sweating, and emoting down on the field have to take extra care not to raise the ire of anyone influential.
Anyway; hopefully the officials settle down once the regular season kicks off in a few short weeks. Interrupting the pace of play and taking great moments away from players and teams because of chatter or flexing in the heat of the moment is an awful look for the league. Owners have taken these shots at players before to send a message only for them to settle down afterwards (remember the banned group celebrations rule?). Let’s see how it plays out.
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