Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark was fined $15,000 for a personal foul penalty in last Sunday's 25-17 victory over the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Friday.
More interesting was that Clark actually praised the league for his fine.
"They're really setting high standards for fair play," said Clark of the NFL to the newspaper. "They're also setting high standards for keeping players healthy, safe. And that's something we as players wanted implemented."
Clark, the Steelers' union representative, added, "If you hit a guy out of bounds, they've been fining for that, so I've got to be smarter."
Clark delivered a late hit to Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Other notable fines handed down Friday:
» New York Giants safety Antrel Rolle was fined $15,000 for a horse-collar tackle on Miami Dolphins running back Reggie Bush, a league source told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora.
» San Francisco 49ers defensive end Justin Smith was fined $15,000 for roughing the passer, a league source told La Canfora. Smith was docked for hitting Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy in the head and neck area.
» Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko was docked $7,500 and wide receiver Andre Caldwell was fined $5,000 for unnecessary roughness against Seattle, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Peko was punished for ripping the helmet off Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch and Caldwell was fined for what the league office called "unnecessarily striking" Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner.
» New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung and running back Kevin Faulk were fined $7,500 apiece for penalties against the Steelers, the Boston Globe reported.
Chung was punished for unnecessary roughness for grabbing Steelers receiver Antonio Brown's facemask's on a tackle. Faulk was fined for a chop block.
» Giants defensive tackle Linval Joseph was fined $7,500 for a late hit on Dolphins running back Steve Slaton, the Wall Street Journal reported.
» Houston Texans offensive tackle Duane Brown was fined $7,500 for punching Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Clint Session, the Houston Chronicle reported.
