The NFL has fined Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters $12,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct after Peters appeared to deliberately spit on Cleveland Browns receiver Jarvis Landry. Peters has denied that the action was intentional.
Landry accused the Ravens cornerback of the act Thursday saying, "Wait until I turn around and do something like that? It's like, do it to my face. Be a man about it if you're going to do something like that." He added that the move was "cowardly."
Later that day, Peters responded with a statement of his own, denying that the spitting was done intentionally: "Where I come from, when you have an issue with someone, you deal with it face-to-face, man-to-man. Anyone who believes that I intentionally spit at him does not know me -- plain and simple."
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh sided with his player in the debate:
No way would Marcus do that. I know Marcus really well. That's not really his style anyway. If he was upset, he wouldn't be doing that. What he did was he spat in a direction. It wasn't in anybody's direction, per se. You can tell that on the clip. That's where I stand with it.
Regardless of the Ravens' defense, Peters was fined $12,500 by the league; however, they did end up winning their matchup with the Browns 47-42.
Peters is reportedly appealing the fine.
[Via]