NFL fines Cassius Marsh for taunting

Posted by Michael David Smith on November 13, 2021, 10:54 AM EST
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The widely ridiculed taunting penalty against Bears linebacker Cassius Marsh is still being treated seriously by the league.

The NFL previously announced that it supported referee Tony Corrente’s decision to penalize Marsh. Now the NFL has fined Marsh $5,972, according to Tom Pelissero.

The decision to fine Marsh will be seen as a show of support to Corrente, and to the league’s crackdown on taunting, which has been criticized by players and fans but is supported by the owners and the competition committee.

Marsh, who was furious at the penalty, has the right to appeal the fine.

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52 responses to “NFL fines Cassius Marsh for taunting”

  2. Yet Corrente hasn’t been suspended (or even fined for that matter) for intentionally bumping into Marsh. I love football but man is the NFL scummy.

  8. If the speed limit is 65, and you do 75, you probably won’t get a ticket. If you go 100 you will. Marsh was doing about 120.

  9. No one outside of Pittsburg agrees with this . But I guess after Super bowl XL you get inured to official’s helping you out

  12. so… if Cassius performed the exact same action a little closer to the sideline it might constitute a taunt, but because he did it out at the hash mark it’s not? Was this action not directed at an individual or group of individuals on the opposing team?

  13. NFL fines Cassius Marsh for taunting

    Marsh got fined 6K for looking at the opposing team bench.

    Aaron Dodgers got fined 14K for perjury, breach of trust, breach of the CBA, risking the health of numerous others.

    Oh wait…misspelled his last name, it’s Godgers. It’s clear now, I see now, nothing is wrong, my bad. Let’s get back to worshiping the water the MVP walks on. The frozen water at Lambeau.

  16. Taunting is really the dumbest penalty. It’s too subjective. Let the players play and have some fun. The players will self enforce taunting on the field anyway if they took offence

  18. And Tony Corrente’s will get paid to ref the Jags/Colts game this weekend after intentionally initiating contact with a player. The NFL really does not care at all about the (lack of) integrity of this league, their players or their fans.

  21. Is this what they mean by protecting the integrity of the ‘Shield’? You can’t make yourself look more stupid by doubling down on an obvious failure.

  22. Of course they did. Would you have expected anything different. This is nothing more than their attempt to justify the terrible call. They should have fined the ref. The NFL is a complete joke for allowing these refs to go rogue and not face any consequences for it.

  23. So we all know the NFL is corrupt and has refs make dubious calls to increase viewership and profits.
    So what does that say about a 3rd rate player on a non contending team playing on the road, going on a 15 second look at me dance, after a 3rd down sack? He allowed the refs to take the opportunity to do the NFL’s bidding. That call may get Corrente the SB reffing gig.
    It’s all entertainment folks, and us complaining about the product only moves the needle if that needle is money going south.
    Someday, I dream of watching a well reffed game played by talented, smart palayers using their talent for victory.
    I’ve got about 20-25 years left but here’s hoping.
    Just watched the 76 NFCCG on tape, and it’s a way better product, but only for football fans, not money fans.

  25. I’m okay with the taunting call and the fine. What is not okay in any way shape or form is a referee intentionally stepping toward a player in an attempt to draw contact. Not that this was a bad call, but a bad call might be overlooked because of the speed of the game in real-time. Corrente appears to have made an effort to make contact with a player here. Who knows what his intentions truly were.

  26. Funny how Grudens story reappears soon as the official bumps into a player. Imagine all the stories that would be posted if it was vice versa. The league and its sources are protecting each other

  28. IT was clearly taunting and it did violate the current rule. That is NOT the problem.

    The problem is that there should not be a taunting rule. Anger and animosity between players and teams are part of the game. They result in rivalries and we all love to watch two teams that really hate each other going at it.

  29. Needs to be a bit more media attention on the hip check from the ref. The NFL hasn’t addressed it at all. The NFL is ran just like our country, sneaky, weird, it just doesn’t pass the smell test.

  30. Marsh should have known who he was playing. No team gets more help from the officials than the Steelers. Marsh gave them a gift flag. What’s really surprising is A) Marsh wasn’t held by the Steeler OL, and B) Corrente didn’t pace off all the way into the end zone and signal Steeler TD.

  36. Didn’t appear that be blatant while watching it on TV is it possible that it was a foul because of something he said to the opponent that we couldn’t hear?

  37. Meanwhile T.J. Watt blows a kiss towards the Bears sideline and doesn’t get a penalty or a fine. I hope the NFL chokes in their money for degrading the integrity of the game in this way.

  39. There wasn’t a taunting problem in the league until the league decided there was a taunting problem. Now it’s worse. That’s what happens when you manage something that doesn’t need to be managed.

  40. I live in San Diego, as such, am a Padres fan. Fernando Tatis does a bat flip, third base stutter step AND directly taunts pitchers (Bauer) to whom he hits a home run off of. Its celebrated and put on the cover of video games! Learn NFL. Sacking a QB is not an easy play, unless you’re playing the Jets or Panthers, so why not let the players celebrate? I think Marsh was actually walking over to the Pit sideline to thank them for calling such an inept play, not to taunt them. If u don’t want to get taunted, then block the rushers who are coming after your QB

  42. This is simply a case of the NFL letting everyone know that they are in charge, not anyone else.

  43. I’ve heard of doubling down when someone’s made a mistake and doesn’t want to admit it. But tripling down on it is a new one. The penalized the team, said Corrente didn’t hip check him when anyone with eyes knows he did, and now fining him? NFL, get over yourselves.

  44. The simple way to solve the problem is don’t taunt. Just play football and go back to the huddle. Jim Brown did it. Walter Payton did it. Deacon Jones did it. Ronnie Lott did it. These guys were great because they saved their energy for the football game, not the theatrics after the whistle. Jerry Rice caught a lot of passes. I don’t recall him jumping up and pointing first down on every reception. No. He wanted to save his energy to score a TD. I don’t remember Emmitt Smith dancing after every carry. I remember him dancing with the stars after he retired, but he saved his energy to try to win super bowls. If players these days don’t care enough about being great and winning, I guess the league will have to teach them. Good for the NFL. Maybe that’s why Tom Brady wins every super bowl these days. Most of the players don’t care about their team. It’s all about them. That’s good. Now they get to hear their name called when they get a flag, and they can read about themselves in the paper the next week while we discuss their penalties. Hey Marsh, you lost the game. Are you happy? You have the make-up going. You have the dance moves down. Wow. Aren’t you something? You lost buddy. Save your energy next time. Just try to become a football player. How much time do you spend practicing you dance moves?

  45. At best, this allows any ref with a big ol ego the right to change the course of a game.

    At worst, this allows refs like Corrente to have possible ties to gambling and continue to change the course of games.

    One again the NFL had a chance to address this issue in a different way but they take the coward’s approach by indirectly supporting their crooked ref by fining the player.

  46. “NFL fines Cassius Marsh for aggressively looking at opponents’ sideline”. Feels like “The Onion” headline

  47. he should request a payment plan from the league and then pay each installment in only single pennies

  48. “One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
    Carl Sagan

  49. Man, you Bears fans really love to talk about Aaron Rodgers! This article has nothing to do with him yet you still can’t keep his name out ya mouth

  52. Marsh spent WAY too much time celebrating. He was the last player off the field. Give it a rest, bruh.

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