The Detroit Lions lost 31-41 against the Buffalo Bills, who had home field advantage, on Thursday, September 17. The Bills dominated the first two quarters, prompting the Lions to erupt in raucous celebration every time they managed to score in the game, which was held at the new Highmark Stadium. But it seems the league was unamused by some of the gestures that Lions stars like Amon-Ra St. Brown made while taunting the Bills.
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The latest Regular Season Week 2 Accountability list released by the NFL includes ten entries belonging to the Lions. St. Brown, in particular, was fined four times on the grounds of “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” due to “Illegal Celebration and Vulgar Acts” in the second and third quarters, totaling a massive $59,704 penalty.
One such ‘vulgar’ celebration involved the Lions wide receiver putting his fingers to his lips, mimicking the act of smoking, after making his first touchdown catch of the day in the third quarter, with 9:29 left on the clock.
Upon catching a two-yard pass from Lions quarterback Jared Goff, St. Brown acted like he was smoking, before passing the imaginary cigarette to Jahmyr Gibbs. The running back also pretended to take a drag before then passing it to wide receiver Jameson Williams. Apparently, the celebration also included offensive tackle Penei Sewell, although his involvement wasn’t caught on camera. This led all four of them receiving $14,926 penalties each.
Amon-Ra St. Brown was fined the same $14,926 penalty three more times for making the smoking gesture three other times in the game, while Williams was fined an additional $11,941 for taunting Bills defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson during an interaction between the two.
When asked about whether he had been contacted by the league, the wide receiver revealed that he didn’t intend to take the huge financial hit sitting down.
“It’s not good, man. 14 something times four, you do the math,” St. Brown said on Thursday, per Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News. “But I’m going to appeal it.”
Detroit Lions linebacker Devin White and defensive lineman Tyler Lacy also appeared on the Week 2 accountability list, although for facemask-related infractions. White received a $7,222 penalty, while Lacy was fined $7,315, both included under the “Unnecessary Roughness” category.
Overall, the league charged the six Detroit Lions players a total of about $130,960 due to infractions made in Week 2. But they weren’t the only ones hit with a costly consequence.
Niners Star Hit With Penalty Due to “Unsportsmanlike Conduct”
San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk likely relates to St. Brown’s woes, having been hit with a similarly expensive $14,926 penalty, not once but twice. During their game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Juszczyk celebrated twice in a row during the third quarter, first after catching a 21-yard pass from quarterback Brock Purdy, followed by another 6-yard touchdown catch just two minutes later.
Both times, the fullback mimicked drinking or chugging an invisible beverage, which had long since become his signature celebratory move. The NFL claimed that the gesture seemed to be a reference to beer-chugging, hitting him with a hefty fine of almost $30,000.
Juszczyk maintained that his gesture was neither vulgar nor illegal, explaining that it was a nod to his famous nickname, “Juice”, a phonetic wordplay on his last name.
“I don’t know how else to say it, I wasn’t drinking beer in my celebration,” Juszczyk said to reporters on Thursday. “I think you guys all know my nickname is Juice. I have Juice on my pads. The stadium yells ‘Juice’ when I catch the ball. When I celebrate, I celebrate by drinking juice. And it’s been that way for years.”
According to insiders who spoke to ESPN, Juszczyk will also appeal to the NFL regarding the penalty.