The NFL fined Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon for comments he never made about referees during the team's controversial playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Saturday.
After Mixon and his agent appealed the fine and publicly pointed out that Mixon did not make those comments, the NFL re-issued the fine with comments he did make.
The original fine claimed Mixon said, "Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are trash and bias."
That statement did not come from Mixon. Former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh wrote it in a social media post.
Mixon then went on a social media tirade denying that he made the statement and expressing outrage over the league's fine.
The NFL later re-issued the fine with his actual words in its place, which reads "Everybody knows how it is playing up here. You can never leave it in the refs’ hands. The whole world see, man," according to NBC Sports.
League rules prohibit public criticism of officiating "because it calls into question the integrity of, and public confidence in, our game."
Officials came under widespread criticism by Texans players and head coach DeMeco Ryans, as well as many media pundits and fans on social media over two questionably roughing the passer penalties that were called against the Texans for hits on Patrick Mahomes last Saturday.
The first penalty came when Houston edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. was called for roughing the passer on a third down in the first quarter. Anderson appeared to push Mahomes in the chest after he had thrown an incomplete pass to tight end Travis Kelce. Anderson was flagged.
The second penalty came during a Mahomes scramble in the third quarter. He had two blockers on a run and three defenders bearing down on him. He moved to his right and then back to his left when he decided to slide.
Head referee Clay Martin explained the calls to a pool reporter after the game, saying one of the controversial calls was a result of "forcible contact to the face mask area," which warranted a flag. He said there was forcible contact to Mahomes’ "hairline" on another unnecessary roughness call.
Mahomes himself has defended the referees for the calls when he was asked by reporters Wednesday if he believed referees were giving him preferential treatment.
"I don't feel that way,'' Mahomes answered. "At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can. And all you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results. ... I think that's what we preach here in Kansas City.
"You get new referees every year, you get new circumstances, and you never can really tell because every play's different. And that's what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I've just continued to play the game, and I just try to win. And whatever happens kind of happens.''
Meanwhile, Kelce refused to speak on the issue when he was asked about it by his brother, Jason Kelce, during their podcast "New Heights" on Wednesday.
"I'd like to plead the Fifth," the tight end said, jokingly referring to his constitutional right to remain silent.
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Nick Saban is arguably the greatest college football coach of all time, having won six national championships with Alabama and one while he was at LSU.
Saban, who finished his career with 292 wins, does not seem to carry a long list of regrets over the course of his career. He left coaching on his own terms last year following an incredibly successful era with the Crimson Tide.
He did, however, admit in a recent interview there was at least one thing he wished he could have back – jumping from LSU to coach the Miami Dolphins. Saban famously left the Tigers after winning a national championship to coach the Dolphins for two seasons. He then claimed he would not take the Alabama job but eventually did so anyway.
He said on "The Pivot" leaving LSU for the NFL was his "biggest mistake."
"I think sometimes you have to learn about yourself," he told LSU alumnus Ryan Clark, ex-Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder and former NFL star running back Fred Taylor. "And you might think things … When I left LSU, that was probably ‘professionally’ the biggest mistake that I ever made," he admitted.
"Not because we didn't have success in Miami. I enjoyed coaching in Miami. I found out in that experience that I like coaching college better, because you can develop players personally, academically, athletically and all that a little more than pro ball, even though I loved the status of coaching in pro football and the kind of guys you coach, and you’re coaching in the best league against the best players, I loved all that."
Saban added that his agent, Jimmy Sexton, talked to him about leaving LSU. Saban said Sexton posed the question, "Do you want to be Bear Bryant or Vince Lombardi in terms of his legacy?" Saban said he answered he wanted to be more like Bryant but chose to go the NFL route anyway.
Saban will mostly be remembered for his run at Alabama, but his stint in the NFL may be the only blemish on his resume any football fan could point to.
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A Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) match between the Milwaukee Wave and Tacoma Stars on Saturday descended into chaos as a huge brawl broke out between players.
The Wave won the match 7-6 as 10 different players scored goals in the wild matchup. Milwaukee improved to 7-1-0 with the victory, and Tacoma fell to 1-5-2, but the big story of the night was the fight that broke out at the end of the match.
Milwaukee’s Mario Alvarez scored his second goal of the season to give the Wave the win. The broadcast followed Tacoma’s Stefan Mijatovic as he shook hands with opposing players after the match. Mijatovic was shoved, which sparked the heated incident. Wave goalkeeper William Banahene appeared to be involved as well as he was being held back.
As the dramatics ensued, Wave forward Qudus Lawal was pushed over onto his own bench. He appeared to address Mijatovic while standing on the bench. Lawal’s teammate Javier Steinwascher tried to get him down and deescalate things, but it took a while for things to calm down.
Mijatovic broke free and appeared to chase a Wave player down into the tunnel. It is unclear what transpired in the tunnel.
The MASL announced suspensions for the players involved in the incident on Tuesday.
Mijatovic was issued a four-game suspension "as a result of his in-game and post-game conduct, and for making unprofessional, offensive and abusive language / comments in-game and post-game."
"In addition to the 4-game suspension (which will be served immediately), and due to the fact that Stefan Mijatovic was previously put on a league probation, Mijatovic will also be issued an undisclosed fine, two (2) penalty points and will need to complete an anger management course and provide the league with a certificate of completion," the league said.
Stars players Roman Torres and Luis Birrueta were issued a one-game suspension for the incident.
Wave players Lawal, Derek Huffman and Tenzin Rampa were also suspended for two games.
"All MASL players, staff and league personnel are expected to always demonstrate professionalism and self-discipline, regardless of whether extenuating circumstances exist," the league said in a statement.
As of Thursday morning, the Wave were in fourth place in the standings and the Stars were in 10th. The MASL has 12 teams in the league.
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