Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict will be getting fined again. For a change, it will have nothing to do with anything he did while on the field.
Burfict plainly fired a pair of middle fingers at the crowd during Sunday’s loss to the Bills. It’s unclear what prompted the gesture, or whether it was meant for Cincinnati fans or Buffalo fans.
Several years ago, Titans owner Bud Adams was fined $250,000 for making the same double-barreled gesture toward the Buffalo Bills during a game in Nashville. Discipline for players who display the obscene gesture is much lower.
Most recently, former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel was fined $12,000 for firing a middle finger toward the Washington sideline during a 2014 preseason game. Former Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk was fined $10,000 for shooting a middle finger toward his own sideline in 2011. (Maybe it was meant for the quarterback.)
Potentially the most expensive middle finger came after Super Bowl XLVI. The NFL sued M.I.A. for $16.6 million after she fired off a middle finger while performing during the halftime show. The claim was resolved via confidential settlement.