NFL fines Cowboys and Saints $500,000 each after joint-practice brawl
NEW YORK, Aug 21. The NFL fined the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints $500,000 each on Thursday, one day after the two clubs were involved in a serious brawl during joint practice sessions, the league disclosed. Thursday also marked the fourth consecutive day of fights at NFL joint practices, with separate altercations reported at Bears-Bengals and Dolphins-Giants joint practices the same day.
Key takeaways
- The NFL fined the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints $500,000 each on Thursday, one day after a serious brawl during their joint practice sessions.
- Thursday marked the fourth consecutive day of fights at NFL joint practices, with additional altercations at the Bears-Bengals and Dolphins-Giants sessions the same day.
- Joint practices fall outside the NFL's compliance framework, which lists fighting as within its jurisdiction only during preseason, regular-season, and postseason games.
- Unlike players who fight in games and face personal fines from their paychecks, no equivalent penalty mechanism applies to fights during joint practices.
- At the Dolphins-Giants session, Dolphins QB Jameis Winston entered a scrum and appeared to level a player, prompting Giants QB Jaxson Dart to jump in after spotting Winston's red No. 19 jersey.
NEW YORK, Aug 21. The NFL fined the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints $500,000 each on Thursday, one day after the two clubs were involved in a serious brawl during joint practice sessions, the league disclosed. Thursday also marked the fourth consecutive day of fights at NFL joint practices, with separate altercations reported at Bears-Bengals and Dolphins-Giants joint practices the same day.
The league noted that its Competition Committee has made sportsmanship during joint practices a point of emphasis in recent years and said it reminded all 32 clubs of that standard this summer.
The gap in the rules
Under the NFL's existing compliance framework, enforcement staff oversees player conduct during preseason, regular-season, and postseason games and specifically identifies fighting as conduct within its jurisdiction during those periods. Joint practices fall outside that scope, the league's own guidance shows. Players who fight in games face personal fines drawn from their paychecks. No equivalent mechanism applies to joint practices.
At a Dolphins-Giants joint session in Miami Gardens on Thursday, Miami quarterback Jameis Winston entered a scrum and appeared to level another player, after which someone took a swing at him. Giants starting quarterback Jaxson Dart said he jumped in after spotting Winston's red No. 19 jersey. "I just looked over and saw the red 19 jersey and I was like, 'I got to go,'" Dart said. "I got to go help my boy! I don't know what's going on over there." Multiple players from both clubs were removed for throwing punches or for conduct that prompted others to throw them.
At the Bears-Bengals joint session, Bears receiver Ray-Ray McCloud appeared to throw a punch at a Bengals defensive back, drawing a pile-on from multiple Cincinnati players. The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots had fought over the two prior days, despite pre-practice warnings from Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. "I don't want anybody fighting," Vrabel said. "I don't want our guys fighting in practice. I don't want them throwing punches." He added: "They get thrown out of the game when those things happen."
The NFL's compliance guidance explicitly lists fighting as within its jurisdiction during preseason, regular-season, and postseason games. Joint practices are not on that list.