OBJ sounds off on ‘ridiculous’ $14K fine for pants
Odell Beckham Jr. posted Monday on social media that he had been fined by the NFL for wearing pants that did not cover his knees during Cleveland‘s loss to Seattle on Oct. 13.
The Browns’ star wide receiver posted a letter from the league on Instagram, telling him he’d been fined $14,037 for violating the NFL’s policy on uniforms and equipment.
On top of the letter, Beckham added the caption, “14 k for some pants that are NOT gonna protect me from anything … this shxt is ridiculous.”
Earlier this month, Beckham railed against the NFL’s fine system after being fined for an altercation with Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey.
“I think it’s crazy. … The NFL finds ways to just take it. They’re going to take it from you,” he said at the time. “I understand a penalty, getting fined for that. But pants above the knees, a shirt hanging out — and we’re talking about a T-shirt that cost $5 to make, and you’re getting $5,000 taken from you. Pads above your knees, and I’m like, ‘You really think that this little knee pad covering my kneecap is going to affect, if somebody hits me, weighs 250 pounds, running 18 mph.’ I don’t do physics, but if I get hit, this is not going to protect me.
“It’s just stuff like that [that] I feel like we can come to a better agreement and simplifying things and not taking the money out of the pockets of the players who are putting money into this entire game. It’s just tough. It sucks to get fined for socks. Or in the middle of the game, have someone come up and it’s like, ‘Oh, your jersey is out.’ I’m like, ‘Bro I’m not worried about my jersey in the middle of the game.’ I’m worried about what assignment do I have. A visor, this. All those little things that could be eliminated … stuff that doesn’t need to be so strict. … I just wish they could not worry about some of that stuff. Worry about the game. Worry about the other things that are going on.”