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49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk won his appeal of a pair of $14,926 fines the NFL imposed on him for his pretend-chugging celebrations, two sources familiar with the ruling tell Front Office Sports.
The case was resolved by one of the appeals officers jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and the NFL Players Association to resolve appeals of cases involving on-field discipline.
It was not immediately clear which of the appeals officers handled the case.
Thus, the fines were overturned after Juszczyk prevailed through the standard appeals process. Juszczyk does not have to pay the fines, but that did not result from them being unilaterally rescinded by the NFL.
The league fined Juszczyk for celebrations during the 49ers’ win in Week 2 over the Dolphins in which the fullback motioned as if he was drinking a beverage. The NFL imposed two fines of $14,926 each.
Juszczyk, nicknamed “Juice,” has used the celebration previously during his career. He texted to ESPN at the time of the fines, “I don’t even drink beer.”
The NFL doled out 22 fines totaling $300,089 to 13 different players for unsportsmanlike conduct violations in the Week 2 games. Of those 22 fines, 13 were for illegal celebrations and vulgar acts, five for obscene gestures, and four for taunting.
An NFLPA spokesperson told FOS in a statement at the time about the fake-chugging celebrations: “[Neither] the players nor the union were given notice that these acts would constitute a fine. In some instances players have been doing these same celebrations for years and they have never been an issue. We are working with the league on how to resolve the fines from last week and how to ensure players have proper notice going forward.”
Players seemed to modify their celebrations quickly in response to the fines. Only five players were fined by the NFL for violations related to unsportsmanlike conduct in the Week 3 games.
FOS reported in August that the NFL would continue to stress strict enforcement of its sportsmanship-related rules this season. That means keeping a close eye on players violating the league’s rules prohibiting taunting opponents and illegal celebrations, at the behest of the NFL competition committee.
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