NBC cameras may have declined to show Doug Baldwin's bathroom-inspired Super Bowl touchdown celebration on Sunday, but that doesn't mean the NFL ignored it.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday that the league has fined Baldwin $11,025 for his end-zone gesture after a three-yard touchdown catch against the Patriots. Baldwin also received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the play.
Baldwin told The Daily Herald earlier this week that he had no regrets about his move, which came in front of the largest television audience in history.
"No," Baldwin said. "I was just out there having fun playing the game of football. There's no explanation. You play this game for so long, you go out there and you have fun. I can get criticized for it, that's fine, everybody has their opinion, but in the moment I was just having fun. My teammates know that.
"Ultimately the only people I have to apologize to are my teammates and coaches, if that was the case, but my teammates and coaches, they know. They didn't say anything. That's not even an issue. We lost the game, there are so many other things to be concerned with than something stupid like that."
The $11,025 fine represents the league minimum, so that should tell you the NFL wasn't exactly apoplectic over the situation. The only person who should be mad about the sequence is Pats cornerback Darrelle Revis, who was inadvertently picked by a game official while in coverage on the play.
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