ALLEN PARK — A league source has confirmed to MLive that a recent report from Fox Sports that Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown received a fine from the league office is inaccurate.
On Wednesday, the network did a collaboration Instagram post with two of its own accounts (NFL on Fox and Fox Sports) that showed the expletive-laced celebration from St. Brown following a third-quarter touchdown that tied the game 21-21 after a Jake Bates extra point with 5:13 left in the period of their Monday Night Football matchup versus the Baltimore Ravens.
“(Expletive) is you talkin’ ‘bout? I run this (expletive),” St. Brown could be heard saying after the score.
The video posted shared a graphic explicitly stating that the receiver picked up a $42,069 fine. Additionally, the post did not state whether it was predicting he would receive that fine or whether it was a joke; in fact, it reported it as news.
Given that Fox is a partner of the NFL, it is interesting that an inaccurate report would not only be disseminated, but the video is still posted as of Friday afternoon.
Typically, the NFL announces its lists of fines and punishments from the previous week on the following Saturday afternoon. While it’s still possible that St. Brown could face a fine after being picked up audibly on a hot mic, it has not happened yet.
St. Brown would play a key role in the win, catching seven of his eight targets for 77 yards and a touchdown, including a key fourth-quarter grab on fourth-and-two, that extended the drive and set up David Montgomery’s 31-yard touchdown run on the next play, giving the Lions a 38-24 lead with 1:42 remaining.
“Excuse my profanity,” St. Brown said on SportsCenter following the 38-30 win in Baltimore. “(Scott Van Pelt) told me it was on TV. I’m sorry, guys. I was just excited, man. I think it was a big play in the game, a play we needed at that time. Big touchdown. I was just full of emotions, got a little excited.”