This isn’t getting any less messy. The NFL struck the New Orleans Saints with steep fines on Saturday, claiming that defensive end Cameron Jordan faked an injury late in last week’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jordan was fined $50,000, as was defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, while head coach Dennis Allen was hit with a $100,000 fine. The Saints as an organization were charged $350,000 for a grand total of $550,000.
And the Saints responded by roundly denying any wrongdoing, releasing a statement in which they asserted Jordan was diagnosed with an injury and has been receiving treatment at the team facility during their bye week. Here’s what they said:
“The New Orleans Saints deny any allegations of purposefully delaying the game on Monday evening. Defensive end Cameron Jordan felt foot pain following a third down play and sought medical attention. He entered the blue medical tent and was examined by the medical staff and following the examination he was taped and able to finish the game. He had an MRI performed the following day in New Orleans and was confirmed that he suffered an acute mid-foot sprain in his left foot. He has been at the facility each day receiving treatment for his injury he suffered on the play. The Saints will appeal the fines through the proper channels and believe the allegations will be proved incorrect.”
It could take some time for this to appeal to work itself out, but it’s just one more hurdle for the Saints to deal with in what’s already been a tumultuous season for Allen and his team. With so many things going wrong on the field, they can’t afford distractions like this away from it.
