RCL Blog 9 Memos
Ann Ehrlich, Michael Ulis, Andre Starks
ENGL 137H
November 17, 2023
Work Plan: History of a Public Controversy – Ezekiel Elliot’s End Zone Celebration Fining
Part 1:
Duties of Each Member:
Ann Ehrlich – Gathering research, organizing the research, write the storyboard, write the RCL Blog Post
Michael Ulis – Gathering Research, organizing the research, writing the script, writing the RCL Blog Post
Andre Starks – Gathering Research and organizing the research
Day 1:
Our group discussed the following topics:
- Colleges banning TikTok (Opinionated/Facts)
- Death with Dignity (Opinionated/Facts)
- Medicine advertisements (Opinionated/Facts)
- Pride Tape in the NHL (Opinionated/Facts)
- Michigan Coach firing (Opinionated/Facts)
- NIL should college athletes be paid? (Facts/Opinionated)
- Washington Football team? (Facts/Opinionated)
- Sports leagues fining their players (Facts/Opinionated)
- Ja Morant use of guns (Opinionated)
- Men’s vs Womens athletic facilities (Facts)
- Transgender people competing in sports (Opinionated/Facts)
- Players taking advantage of organizations (Player’s salary worth) (Opinionate/Facts)
- Ability to buy a gun at 18 but cannot purchase alcohol at 21 legally
- People that do not work or don’t pay taxes should be allowed to vote? Crime?
- Moderators on social media (Opinionated/Facts)
- Affirmative Action (Facts/Opinionated)
- Who should pay for the bill on a date? (Opinionated/Facts)
- Animal testing for medicine (Facts)
Day 2-3:
After some discussion, we decided to discuss sports leagues fining their players. We began to research this by looking at different articles. On Day 3 we chose to only focus on the NFL. The following articles are those we referenced in our research:
Pro Fines:
- https://www.elgaronline.com/view/journals/cilj/4-1/cilj.2015.01.02.xml?tab_body=pdf
- https://indianashape.org/journal/J42_02_2013.pdf#page=33
- https://sportsconflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Off-Court-Misbehavior-Sports-Leagues-and-Private-Punishment.pdf
- https://operations.nfl.com/inside-football-ops/rules-enforcement/accountability-fines-appeals/
- https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=a0956193-898e-46c7-90fe-03d1d78ad544
- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/546042-nfl-insider-the-effect-of-fines-on-plays-in-the-nfl
- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/496451-nfl-larger-fines-and-suspension-for-illegal-hits
- https://clutchpoints.com/bills-news-josh-allen-10927-fine-ludicrous-penalty
Anti-fines:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ZEu7ko3wf9Q
- https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebaltimorebanner.com%2Fsports%2Fravens-nfl%2Fbaltimore-ravens-nfl-fines-madubike-beckham-roquan-smith-nflpa-union-officiating-4JQKFMFJCNBOPOQLNO3WDLGGD4%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cale5425%40psu.edu%7Cdcecc4e5927c40b6fd9408dbe3882247%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C638353946069199729%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=TxQ%2BfQZHZekXogiSKoLaWWrC%2FbL%2BieVH7fk%2B%2BijNQRc%3D&reserved=0
- https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/seahawks-te-will-dissly-says-a-lot-of-nfl-fines-are-unnecessary-stuff/
- https://nflpa.com/posts/the-nfl-fine-system-is-not-fine
- https://www.on3.com/pro/news/jj-watt-claims-nfl-is-stealing-money-from-players-after-ridiculous-patrick-ricard-fine/#
- https://operations.nfl.com/inside-football-ops/rules-enforcement/accountability-fines-appeals/
- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2481894-the-most-ridiculous-sports-fines-ever
- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/236063-sport-commissioners-arbitrarily-dished-out-double-punishments
- https://sports.yahoo.com/nflpa-indicates-keith-smiths-87-213813170.html?guccounter=1
- https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/sports/football/04rhoden.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g2ZAhopQU8
- https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/news/story-behind-joe-horn-cell-phone-celebration
- https://www.nfl.com/news/ochocinco-defiant-after-30k-fine-for-celebration-i-play-to-have-09000d5d814d88e1
- https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/antonio-brown-draws-a-ridiculously-large-fine-for-his-latest-end-zone-twerk/
- https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/antonio-brown-fined-more-than-11k-for-wild-goal-post-td-celebration/
Part 2:
This project will be analyzing the controversy of NFL player Ezekiel Elliot performing an end zone celebration that resulted in a fine. Elliot utilized a prop (the Salvation Army pot), which violates the code of conduct and, therefore, charged him with a fine by the league. Although this was a violation of rules, it resulted in an increase in donations to the Salvation Army and became an iconic symbol of the player and organization. The controversy surrounds whether fining the celebration was justified.
Many players believe these fines are excessive and inhibit their ability to express themselves through celebrations. Conversely, the league commissioners believe they encourage good behavior that professionally reflects the organization. Additionally, charity groups that receive these funds from fines may appreciate the financial support. However, in the case of the Salvation Army, they would appreciate the celebration that led to their financial benefit. This project will outline the different stakeholders and conflict surrounding the history of fines in the NFL. We will use footage of celebrations and games, calls by referees, and testimonies by players and league officials. This will engage fans who care about the issue and provide varying perspectives from people who are impacted by this conflict.
Framing questions:
- What stakeholders are there? What do they think the problem is? (quality/definition)
- Where do the fines go? (conjecture)
- How much are different fines? (quality)
- How can this issue be solved? (quality)
- How are fines awarded? (policy)
- What do different stakeholders want to see done? What actions taken? (policy)
- What is the actual issue? (definition)
