Spit-And-Run Costs Cox
The NFL hit Miami linebacker Bryan Cox for $17,500 in the pocketbook - its stiffest fine of the season.
Cox was fined for the incident surrounding a fight and ejection Sunday at Buffalo in a 23-20 loss to the Bills. Bills running back Carwell Gardner was fined $15,000 for his part in the fight.
Cox was fined $10,000 for the fight by NFL director of football development Gene Washington. That’s the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement and is usually for second offenses.
Cox was fined an additional $7,500 by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue “for conduct detrimental to the league when he insulted and provoked the fans while exiting the stadium.”
Cox spit five times in the direction of the crowd, an incident that was captured on TV and shown many times.
Gardner was fined $10,000 for the fight and $5,000 by Tagliabue “for his attempt to continue the on-field altercation with Cox both in the locker room and on the Dolphins’ bus after the game.”
Cox was fined more for spitting. Gardner tried to continue the fight long after it was over, trying to get into the Dolphins’ locker room after being ejected to go after Cox and then going twice to the Dolphins’ bus and baiting Cox to come off. Gardner was taken away from the bus by NFL security adviser Charlie Jackson after the first time, but returned. Cox and Gardner exchanged further unpleasantries around the bus.
Cox’s previous problems, particularly in Buffalo, contributed to the larger fine. On Sept. 26, 1993, Cox flipped off Bills fans as he entered Rich Stadium for pregame warmups. Cox, who declined to comment, was fined $10,000 by Tagliabue for that incident, which led to a lawsuit by Cox against the NFL. Cox sued the league, saying it did a poor job of creating a healthy work environment. Cox won the suit and the league tightened security measures, rescinded $7,000 of the fine, and later paid for all his legal fees.
Gardner continued to deny his role in Sunday’s fight, saying he would appeal the fine.
“I was shocked, I can’t believe it,” Gardner said. “I can’t believe (the NFL) watched the game films. It shouldn’t be nothing at all as far as I’m concerned. I was just protecting myself. I was blocking somebody totally different and the next thing I knew, he was on top of me, pounding on me.
“I didn’t try to get in the locker room. I didn’t try to get in the bus,” Gardner said, contradicting testimony from several witnesses, including the NFL’s Jackson.
Cox has been fined more than $45,000 in his five-year career, although he got the rebate for the 1993 Buffalo incident.
Quick kicks
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