The NFL fined Green Bay Packers safety Jerron McMillian $21,000 for his hit on Martellus Bennett in Sunday's 38-10 loss to the New York Giants. McMillan believes that happened because of the way Bennett behaved on the field.
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"I guess it's for the well-being of whoever was down, because I guess he was crying and whatnot," McMillian told FoxSportsWisconsin.com on Thursday. "I guess something was wrong with him, but it was a clean hit. I think they more so threw the flag because of his reaction instead of the actual contact."
McMillian isn't the first to have this complaint. Some players believe the NFL often fines on the result of a hit rather than the contact itself.
"(The coaches) said, 'I don't know what else to tell you. I don't want to change anything different about what you did,' " McMillian said. " 'You lowered your target, you led with your shoulder, it wasn't helmet to helmet.'
"I don't know what (the referees) are looking for me to do. I can't pull up, I'm already coming full speed. You can't just stop."
Bennett was hit in the end zone a moment after an Eli Manning pass sailed by him.
The Packers have had a player fined three weeks in a row, leading McMillian to float a conspiracy theory.
"I think (the NFL) has got a hit out on us," McMillian said. "We're trying to play a physical football game, and it calls to be physical in this game of football. Just to have rules and regulations on to how and to where to hit a player, it's hard.
"You want to go all out, you want to leave everything on the field, but that's a little bit of an aspect of the game they're trying to take away. They're trying to take it away."
Those are a lot of accusations from the rookie. But 21 stacks is a lot of cash for a fourth-round draft pick. We can understand his frustration.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
