Adam Jones fined $35,000 for slamming Amari Cooper’s head … fair?
After watching the video of Cincinnati cornerback Adam Jones ripping off Oakland Raiders receiver Amari Cooper’s helmet and then slamming his head into it, everyone assumed Jones was going to be in major trouble from the NFL.
And while a $35,000 fine is a major deal to 99.9 percent of the world, it still was a bit surprising Jones wasn’t suspended. There didn’t seem to be much consideration for that either; by pretty early Monday there were already reports that he wouldn’t be suspended. Instead, it’s just a $35,000 fine for Jones, as reported by multiple outlets, and he’ll appeal. There wasn’t a ton of contrition, either. Jones told the media, via Jeremy Rauch of Fox 19, “I can’t promise it won’t happen again. I’m an emotional player.”
So why did the NFL take it easy on Jones and Ndamukong Suh, who didn’t get punished even though he might have kicked Washington running back Alfred Morris, knocking off his helmet (for what it’s worth, I don’t think there was great evidence to say that was Suh’s intent)? The obvious thought is if this has anything to do with the NFL’s poor record of punishment recently. Is the NFL deciding it would rather not be the heavy-handed punishment machine it has been in recent years, after being embarrassed again in court when Tom Brady’s four-game suspension was reduced? They seem to be much different issues — on-field acts of unsportsmanlike conduct vs. a case where the NFL thought rules might have been circumvented off the field — but it’s still worth wondering. For what it’s worth, Cooper didn’t think Jones should have been suspended.
Or maybe the NFL thought Jones was provoked. CincyJungle.com shared this video of Cooper taking a shot at Jones:
I’m not sure that was a good reason for Jones’ response, but opinions can vary on that.
So was Jones’ $35,000 fine the right way to go? Or was it a bit odd that he didn’t get suspended?
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
