Don’t drink the water
April 19, 2007 at 5:07 pm by Jake Gantz in NewsThe NFL just recently fined Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher $100,000 for drinking Vitaminwater and wearing a Vitaminwater hat during media day in the week that precedes the Super Bowl. Vitaminwater is not an official drink sponsor of the NFL — only Gatorade is the NFL’s official drink, hence the extreme fine.
Now, I don’t know what Vitaminwater is and I’ve never heard of it (but I think I might try some now), but this fine got me thinking about Atlanta sports figures and some of the fines they’ve been handed over the years …
Flying solo - His most recent “hiccup” was the infamous hidden-compartment-water-bottle incident that mysteriously went away. But before Vick was flying commercial, he was flipping the bird. Vick was fined $10,000 and agreed to donate another $10,000 to a charity for giving the finger to some heckling fans back in November of 2006.
“I can’t really say whether it’s fair or not,” Vick said. “But the league makes the rules and I broke the rules. It is what it is — 20 Gs. I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
Pregame melee - Nine players in all were fined in the 2005 season opener between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons for various infractions. But the most notable ones came before the kickoff even got under way.
Eagles LB Jeremiah Trotter and Falcons CB Kevin Mathis were each ejected and fined $5,000 for a fight they got into during pregame warm-ups. Falcons CB DeAngelo Hall was also fined $5,000 for grabbing an opponent’s helmet and throwing it across the field. Three more Falcons and three more Eagles were also fined $2,500 each for entering the fighting area.
The two teams almost got into another brawl after the ejections when the Eagles gathered at midfield on the Falcons logo. Referees separated the teams and finally the game got under way — where another Falcons player was fined for an illegal hit.
An all-around idiot - Few Atlanta sporting lows come anywhere close to eclipsing quite possibly the biggest idiot (and bigot) to ever wear an Atlanta uniform. In January of 2000, Braves relief pitcher John Rocker was fined $20,000 and suspended for the first month of the season by league commissioner Bud Selig for what he called remarks that “offended practically every element of society.” He was also ordered to seek professional help. Wonder why? — here are the remarks:
“Imagine having to take the Number 7 train to the ballpark next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS right next to some dude who just got out of prison for the fourth time right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It’s depressing.”
What’s most depressing is Rocker’s outlook on life in America. Apparently this melting-pot mentality doesn’t sit well with Mr. Rocker, who also said, “I’m not a very big fan of foreigners. … How the hell did they get in this country?” and reportedly called one of his teammates a “fat monkey.”
In baseball he was known for his sprint from the bullpen to the mound, but he’s remembered for his quick removal from the league.
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April 19th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I think it would be a wise move for Vitamin Water to pay the fine - and even so - the amount of press they got and will continue to receive is well worth the amount. Vitamin Water is a great beverage Mr. Gantz, you should check it out.