NFL punishes Vita Vea for "violent gesture" ahead of Bucs' Week 6 matchup against Saints
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are moving on from the bad Week 5 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but two players are getting one last reminder before Sunday's kickoff against the New Orleans Saints.The NFL fined Vita Vea and K.J. Britt on Saturday for separate reasons and amounts: Vea was fined $14,609 for making a "violent […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are moving on from the bad Week 5 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but two players are getting one last reminder before Sunday's kickoff against the New Orleans Saints.
The NFL fined Vita Vea and K.J. Britt on Saturday for separate reasons and amounts: Vea was fined $14,609 for making a "violent gesture" in the first quarter and Britt was fined $6,231 for a hit on a defenseless player in the second quarter.
Vea's fine occurred after he sacked Kirk Cousins and proceeded to "swim" on the ground before pretending to shoot a gun, as you can see below.
Vea was not flagged for the gesture, but Britt was flagged after he collided with Falcons receiver Drake London. Britt initiated helmet-to-helmet contact while London was trying to come down with a catch. The Bucs linebacker was subsequently hit with a 15-yard penalty that gave the Falcons an automatic 1st and 10 at the Bucs' 41-yard line.
The NFL is getting serious about these violent gestures. The league also fined Washington Commanders running back Jeremy McNichols, last week, for a violent gesture during the team's win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. McNichols pretended to shoot a an arrow into the crowd after he scored the game's final touchdown, except his fine was $6,250, which is obviously nowhere near the same amount as Vea's.
It's clear the league is taking this kind of gesture, which is clearly weighted by the shooting action, a lot more seriously than others and Vea found out the hard way.
