NFL Gives Ravens Shockingly Appropriate Penalty For Practice Violations
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The NFL hasn't exactly been consistent or appropriate with the punishments levied against teams in recent years. Roger Goodell badly mishandled the Ray Rice mess and raised some eyebrows with his handling of Greg Hardy, and it's beyond well-known by now how badly the Patriots got hosed for DeflateGate.
That's why it should come as a shock that the league would actually hand down the appropriate form of punishment against the Ravens, who ran a drill during rookie minicamp with players wearing pads, which was a clear violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The league will fine Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and the team, as well as cancel next week's OTAs, a penalty consistent with the violation described in the CBA. (UPDATE: The fine will be $343,057 for the Ravens and $137,223 for Harbaugh.)
The difference between the Ravens and the Patriots is that Baltimore accepted the penalty and apologized. "We made a mistake and we are sorry for that," a statement from the team reads. That's not to say the Patriots should have done the same for DeflateGate. Apology or no apology, the league was out to crucify the Patriots and the team probably would have given a similar penalty anyway - if you are to believe that DeflateGate was meant to be a "make-up call" for a perceived light penalty for Spygate.
If the league really is about fairness and integrity, it would have treated the Patriots like it did the Ravens. The standard fine for a first offender in a uniform/equipment violation is $5,787, followed by $11,576 for the second offense. Even if the league fined Tom Brady and/or the Patriots for a second offense, for all 11 of the 12 footballs that were allegedly tampered with, that's still just $127,336.
As much as I'd want to see the look on Harbaugh's face if the league docked him a few first round picks and fined him $8 million, the league actually decided to give a proper penalty according to the rulebook, and it's refreshing to see. But we all know the war zone Foxboro would become had Bill Belichick been caught with rookies in pads.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
