Kyle Juszczyk did his 'Juice' celebration. An NFL fine said its 'offensive' - USA Today
The NFL fined San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk $14,926 for what the what the league said was an "offensive demonstration" following his touchdown catch in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins.
The celebration in question? Following his score, Juszyzck mimed as if he was drinking something, as an ode to his nickname, "Juice."
It's a celebration Juszyzck has performed often during his 14-year NFL career. He had never before been fined for it.
However, this time, the NFL interpreted the 35-year-old fullback's maneuver as him pretending to chug a beer, as it communicated to him in a letter announcing the fine.
"Your imitation of chugging a beer constituted an offensive demonstration and could reasonably be construed as being in poor taste," the NFL wrote, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Schefter also reported Juszyzck wrote in a text "I donβt even drink beer!" in wake of the fine. The Harvard product later took to social media to express his disbelief in the punishment.
"Canβt make this stuff upβ¦" Juszyzck wrote in a post quoting Schefter's reporting.
Juszczyk has already filed an appeal of the fine. It isn't yet clear whether the league will rescind it.
Naturally, Juszczyk's fine drew plenty of reaction from around the NFL. From those calling upon the league to rescind the fine to Jason Kelce imploring Juszczyk to counter-sue the league, here are some of the most notable reactions.
It will be interesting to see if Juszczyk continues to use his signature celebration despite the fine. The veteran fullback only gets the ball sparingly, as he has logged just 26.7 touches per 17 games over the last six seasons.
