From five hips thrusts to two to … none?
Don’t count on it.
Steelers All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown made no promises to quit his touchdown twerking celebrations even though the NFL hit him with a $24,000 fine for the most recent dance against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night.
“I did it the first time and tried to minimize with two, and still it’s a fine,” Brown said Friday afternoon after practice.
The fines — he was nailed with a $12,000 fine for his dance in the opening week against the Redskins — won’t deter Brown from doing it again. When pressed on whether he’ll do it again, he responded, “The plan is to continue to win and continue to have fun.”
“It’s a game,” Brown continued. “You have to have fun. I can’t stop having fun. It’s always fun when we get to win games and do what we love to do. We work so hard over the course of the week. When you get in the end zone you’re filled with so much fun, passion and emotion.”
Coach Mike Tomlin asked the NFL for clarification about touchdown dances Tuesday. Dean Blandino told ESPN.com this week that if a touchdown dance is “sexually suggestive” there will be an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which comes with a fine.
The NFL was expected to distribute a video to teams this week for clarification, but it didn’t appear as if Brown had seen it yet as of Friday afternoon.
“We’ll get to that when it’s time,” Brown said. “The NFLPA is doing a good job of providing me with that clarification.”
Brown said he is appealing the fine and said celebration penalties should be treated in a different manner from personal fouls.
“We need more clarification in regards to what we can and can’t do,” Brown said. “I don’t think excessive celebrating should cost more than guys hitting other guys in the helmet. Twenty-four thousand for a guy scoring a touchdown and having fun (is more) than hitting a guy in the head and targeting with the helmet. There should be some differentiation and clarification in what we can do.”
When a reporter suggested Brown should just hand the ball to an official after his next touchdown just to change things up, Brown smiled and said: “No, I’m going to do what I want.”
