Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed has been fined by the NFL after taking off his helmet in the fourth quarter in a win against the Minnesota Vikings last week.
The incident occurred as the Vikings were driving for a potential game-tying score. A penalty flag was thrown after an incompletion on fourth down from Kirk Cousins to Jordan Addison and Sneed, who was in coverage at the time, took his helmet off to argue the call.
Sneed appeared to be told by the officials to put his helmet on but was not flagged for the infraction and the initial pass interference flag was picked up, giving the Chiefs a turnover on downs. Had the pass interference call stood, the Vikings would’ve had the ball first-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Had Sneed’s helmet infraction been flagged, the Chiefs still would’ve had the ball but starting from deeper in their own territory.
Instead, the league docked $13,649 from Sneed’s paycheck instead of enforcing the rule during the games.
“It’s another in a long list of examples of the NFL’s on-field officials and the league’s disciplinary process not being on the same page,” says Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “If Sneed’s actions were unsportsmanlike enough to warrant a fine, then the officials also should have flagged him.”
