Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is planning on appealing the $100,000 fine that was slapped on him by the NFL for his vicious blindsiding hit on Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan, and he plans to appeal the fine for the incident that saw Suh block Sullivan low and take out his knees.
ESPN reports that Suh's agents are gathering information to appeal the penalty, which Suh believed to be excessive since he's maintained the fact that he wasn't trying to aim low, but just missed his target on the block whle aiming for Sullivan's waist.. The fine is the largest fine in NFL history that didn't include a suspension and involves the loss of game checks, according to ESPN.
The hit that's in question can be seen here.
Suh is a repeat offender, and has previously received a $30,000 fine for kicking Houston Texan's quarterback Matt Schaub in the groin, and the levy that the NFL has handed down to him this time is almost triple the amount since Suh appeared to be aiming to take out a blindsided Sullivan's knees. Suh has also been under scrutiny for roughing up quarterbacks around the league in past years and was suspended in 2011 for stomping on Green Bay's Evan Dietrich-Smith.
Suh's penalty cost the Lions a touchdown as linebacker DeAndre Levy scored on the interception that led to Suh's block, but it didn't count since the penalty was called. Suh, a team captain, apologized to Levy and the rest of the team for his actions and for costing the team and Levy a touchdown.
"He apologized to the team. It was sincere. We accepted it," running back Joique Bell said per ESPN. "We all a family, and that's our brother. At the end of the day, we all we got. So, it was a good deal. Levy accepted it, so if he can accept it, everybody should be able to accept it."
Whether or not the league accepts it after the appeals process is a different story.
Detroit (1-0) eventually topped Minnesota (0-1) 34-24 in the game.
The NFL was reportedly on the fence as to whether or not to suspend Suh or fine him, and they opted to tax him heavily for the play, but not without some careful consideration.
"All options are on the table with a repeat offender," NFL VP Ray Anderson told The Detroit Free Press Monday before the decision on the fine was reached. "You can honestly say it's being reviewed for either a fine and/or a suspension, given his repeat-offender status."
The NFL opted to lay down the law with a $100,000 fine despite the fact that rulebook indicates a second-time offense for a blindside block should only cost a player between $20,000-to-$40,000. Suh will lose out on just about three game checks as ESPN reports he makes roughly $37,000 per game.
Suh has remained adamant that he didn't take out Sullivans' knees on purpose, and now he will appeal the fine for what he and his agents perceive as an excessive fine.
"By any means, I'm not going for his knees," Suh said following the game per CBS Sports. "He knows that. We had a great conversation running out at halftime. And he understood. My aim was his waist, to cut him off."
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