The NFL on Tuesday stripped the Miami Dolphins of their first-round NFL Draft pick for next year and punished owner Stephen Ross for tampering with star quarterback Tom Brady and rival coach Sean Payton.
The penalties were handed down after a six-month probe by independent investigator Mary Jo White on allegations of tampering and tanking games.
“The investigators found tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said.
Photo: AP
Ross and Dolphins vice chairman Bruce Beal were found to have violated NFL anti-tampering rules by “impermissible communications” with seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady while he was under contract to the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and with Payton while he coached the New Orleans Saints.
The Dolphins must forfeit their first-round pick next year and their 2024 third-round choice.
Ross was fined US$1.5 million and suspended through Oct. 17. He cannot go to the Dolphins’ facility or represent the club and team at NFL gatherings during the span. He was removed from all NFL committees.
Beal was fined US$500,000 and banned from league meetings for the 2022 season.
“I know of no prior instance of a team violating the prohibition on tampering with both a head coach and star player, to the potential detriment of multiple other clubs, over a period of several years,” Goodell said. “Similarly, I know of no prior instance in which ownership was so directly involved in the violations.”
Tanking allegations raised by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores against Ross, including financial incentives and other encouragement to deliberately lose games, were not punished. The probe supported Flores and concerns about comments made by Ross, but found there were no serious offers made to reward lost games.
Beal was found to have made improper contact with Brady from August 2019 through the 2019 playoffs while he was with the Patriots, what were described as “numerous and detailed discussions” with reports to Ross.
There was also contact with Brady after last year’s season when Brady was still under contract to Tampa Bay before his brief retirement and return to the Bucs.
Ross and Beal contacted Brady about becoming a limited partner and possibly an executive and quarterback with the Dolphins.
Payton’s agent was contacted in January last year about a head coaching job with the Dolphins before announcing his retirement. The Saints were not asked to allow such contact.
“With regards to tampering, I strongly disagree with the conclusions and the punishment,” Ross said in a statement. “However, I will accept the outcome because the most important thing is that there be no distractions for our team as we begin an exciting and winning season. I will not allow anything to get in the way of that.”
Former NBA star Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is to arrive in Taiwan on Saturday, he said yesterday, adding that he hopes he could play his first game with the Kaohsiung Steelers on Feb. 12. Lin made the comments in a social media post, in which he also apologized to his fans in Taiwan, saying he would not be able to sign any autographs at the airport due to COVID-19 restrictions. He is expected to practice social distancing from Saturday through Saturday next week, during which he would not be able to go to a basketball arena, he said. That would also prevent him from
Ticket sales for Kaohsiung Steelers home games surged after last month’s announcement that former NBA sensation Jeremy Lin would join the struggling P.League+ team. The Steelers, currently in last place in the six-team league with a 2-14 record, have three home games this month, hosting the Formosa Taishin Dreamers, the New Taipei Kings and the Dreamers again at Kaohsiung Fengshan Arena on Monday, Saturday next week and Feb. 12 respectively. Tickets to the latter two games went on sale at noon on Monday and as of 2:15pm, the courtside seats for the contest on Saturday next week, priced at NT$3,500 each, and
Mexico’s leading tennis players on Monday announced they would not play in next week’s Davis Cup World Group playoff tie against Taiwan due to differences with the Mexican Tennis Federation (FMT). Led by Santiago Gonzalez, Alejandro Hernandez and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, the players said they would not play in the 5 Group I playoff tie in Metepec, Mexico, on Saturday and Sunday. “After a difficult deliberation, we have not reached a positive conclusion, so we have decided not to participate in the upcoming series against the Chinese Taipei team,” the players said in a statement published on social media. “The lack of
Former NBA sensation Jeremy Lin, recently recruited by the P.League+’s Kaohsiung Steelers, arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Lin arrived at the airport at 5:46am on a China Airlines flight from the US before leaving the airport via a VIP terminal. Lin, whose parents are from Taiwan, is believed to be observing Taiwan’s “0+7” self-initiated COVID-19 prevention program for arrivals. Lin had said earlier in the week that he would be practicing social distancing from yesterday through Saturday, meaning he would not participate in games or visit the Steelers’ home court during that period. The Steelers said in a statement that Lin would
RSS