“NFL Acting Like the WNBA”: Sophie Cunningham Blasts League for Punishing Kyle Juszczyk Over Harmless Celebration

During the Week 2 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Miami Dolphins, Kyle Juszczyk scored a touchdown, celebrated for a few seconds, and moved on with his day. But the league did not. Days later, the league hit the 49ers’ fullback with a $14,926 fine for the celebration, on top of a $20,033 fine he’d already received in Week 1.

Juszczyk’s wife, Kristin, and George Kittle’s wife, Claire, used their joint Instagram account, @wifedupmicdup, to needle the league directly by posting a picture of them mimicking the same pose.

WNBA star Sophie Cunningham commented, “NFL Acting Like the WNBA,” under the same post, suggesting the league’s fine reflected the strict conduct enforcement more commonly associated with the WNBA.

Juszczyk’s moment itself was almost nothing. After scoring on Sunday, the 49ers player tilted his head back and brought his hand to his mouth, mimicking beer chugging. The NFL, in its fine letter, determined the celebration “constituted an offensive demonstration and could reasonably be construed as being in poor taste.”

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According to the NFL’s rulebook, Juszczyk’s imitation was a violation of Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which governs the “unsportsmanlike conduct” and specifically prohibits players from engaging in “offensive demonstrations”

Cunningham’s reaction didn’t come out of nowhere. She herself racked up roughly $23,000 in fines during her most recent WNBA season.

“A lot of people, especially in competition, everyone has a mouth, right? Okay, but do something about it, then…” she said on the Like a Farmer podcast.  “…Well, this past season, $23,000. Mainly it’s ’cause I was talking about the refs too much.”

Coming back to Juszczyk, during a post-game presser, he shared his side of the story, noting that he has filed an appeal to the league over the fine. His formal appeal hearing is scheduled for this coming Tuesday on Zoom.

“I don’t know how else to say it. I wasn’t drinking beer in my celebration. I think you guys all know my nickname is Juice. I have ‘Juice’ on my pads,” he said. “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. I was as surprised as anybody when I got a fine,”

With the fine in place, Kyle Juszczyk will still be allowed to play in the Week 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals, where he will contribute to lead the franchise’s 2-0 record.

The post “NFL Acting Like the WNBA”: Sophie Cunningham Blasts League for Punishing Kyle Juszczyk Over Harmless Celebration appeared first on EssentiallySports.