Seahawks defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson is adamant his hit on Drew Stanton was not illegal, calling the NFL fine he received for it “extortion.”
He has appealed the $18,231 fine for what the league deemed a low hit on the Cardinals quarterback. Richardson said he lost his balance when he was pushed by Arizona left tackle Jared Veldheer.
“It’s kind of just extortion really,’’ Richardson said Friday, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “Guy pushes you in the back and trips you on the play and you are catching your balance the whole time and then you just happen, I don’t know. They said ‘avoid him,’ but he still has the ball. It’s like what do you do?’’
Officials penalized Richardson for roughing the passer. Stanton sprained a knee on the play but stayed in the game. He will miss Sunday’s game because of the injury.
“There is no way you should be taking any of my money because it wasn’t a dirty hit,’’ Richardson said. “I didn’t try to hit him in the legs or nothing, and once again, people fail to realize it’s still football. Pretty sure they are just fining guys for every personal foul and not even looking at the film and not even making the consideration of did I try to avoid the guy.’’