Although I guess they could still come down next week, the $15,000 fines actually make me feel better, as though the league has done its evaluation of the situation and handed out its punishment. I definitely don’t think that Light was justified in escalating it to physical blows, but obviously I’m glad if he escapes suspension (for the record, I’ve always felt that throwing a punch should be an automatic suspension).

Still, I was glad to see acknowledgment by the league of Crowder’s role in verbally escalating and instigating the fracas, and though it still doesn’t excuse Matt’s reaction, I do like the message being sent that there are also trash talking lines that are not to be crossed either. The players all come from different backgrounds, and what might be a seemingly innocuous joke to one about family could really be out of line for one of the guys lining up who has lost a loved one to illness, accident, violence, etc.