Bruce Arians to Appeal $50,000 Fine for Striking His Own Player

Arians smacked Buccaneers safety Andrew Adams's helmet after a play this past Sunday.

Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians told reporters he plans to appeal the NFL's $50,000 fine handed down for smacking one of his own players on the helmet. 

“I’ll appeal it,” he said. “It ain’t got nothing to do with the game, so we’re good.”

Bucs’ HC Bruce Arians said he will appeal the $50,000 fine that the NFL imposed on him today for this action: pic.twitter.com/itS0RvIbvd

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2022

After a play during Sunday's wild-card matchup agains the Eagles, Arians walked on to the field and smacked safety Andrew Adams on the helmet. Arians said he was trying to prevent Adams from getting a penalty for pulling Eagles players off of a pile after a muffed punt that the Buccaneers recovered, per the Tampa Bay Times. 

“You can’t pull guys out of a pile,“ he said. “We just got a big play, great field position, and he’s trying to pull a guy out of the pile, and I was trying to knock him off that guy so he didn’t get a penalty.”

Tampa Bay went on to win the home game, 31–15, and will host the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. 

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