Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman David DeCastro has a major bone to pick with the NFL. The 29-year-old DeCastro wasn’t on the initial list of players fined in the Myles Garrett-Mason Rudolph brawl, but he still received a hefty fine from the league.
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DeCastro will reportedly have to pay $14,000 for his involvement in the fight. What exactly did DeCastro do to earn that fine? He says he was fined for trying to play “peacekeeper.”
DeCastro expressed frustration with that decision, telling ESPN he “can’t wait to hear” why he was fined.
"I can't wait to hear the explanation for trying to break up a fight," DeCastro said Wednesday. "But I guess it's some dumb rule in the NFL where you can't be a peacemaker."
Lineman Ramon Foster was also fined for entering the area of the brawl. Foster said the NFL sent him a letter saying it didn’t matter if he didn’t do anything. Simply walking toward the fight got him fined.
"They sent me the letter, and it basically says, 'You cannot contest it,'" Foster said. "Which is pretty insane to me. I was on the field around [the fight]. I didn't even do anything. Really didn't do anything.
"The letter basically says you can't walk toward a fight. Being a peacemaker is no excuse. Across the board it basically covered it. I'll probably still appeal it, but that $3,507 is gone. It's going to be a short Christmas."
Foster was fined $3,507 for his involvement in the fight. Foster plans to appeal the fine.
DeCastro also plans to appeal, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Assuming Foster was telling the truth about the letter he received from the league, it’s going to be tough for either player to get their punishments overturned.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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