Brendon Ayanbadejo has appealed the $15,000 fine the NFL assessed him for a horse-collar tackle in the Ravens' victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But the inside linebacker said he's not optimistic because of the league's emphasis on eliminating horse-collar tackles, which entail a player grabbing and pulling down a ball barrier by either the collar of that player's jersey or shoulder pads.
"I'm not [optimistic] because it's a horse-collar [tackle] and however you slice it or dice it, it's a horse-collar [tackle]," Ayanbadejo said Wednesday. "What can you say? I didn't do it on purpose. I'm actually good friends with [Steelers kick returner] Antonio Brown. It is what it is. I've got my fingers crossed."
Ayanbadejo was cited for pulling down Brown on a kick return in the first quarter of the teams' season opener on Sept. 11. The tackle earned the Ravens a 15-yard penalty and Ayanbadejo the hefty hit to his wallet.
But Ayanbadejo pointed out that this is the first fine of his career and that he does not have a history of horse-collar tackles.
"It's a pretty steep infraction," he said. "For guys that have never done it and nobody was injured on the play and it wasn't intentional, there should be some leniency there. It should be expunged. I got the 15-yard penalty for it. There was a day when there was nothing. There would have been no penalty or a fine. It was nothing. Now, it's a penalty, it's a fine. There are guys that get in fights and throw punches and get fined less."