San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk will not be paying the NFL $14,926 after all. A league spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that the fine, handed to him last month, has been rescinded.
The trouble started during the team's Week 2 win over the Miami Dolphins. Juszczyk, a ten-time Pro Bowler, celebrated by pretending to chug a beer. The league saw it as an offensive demonstration and said the move broke its rules on unsportsmanlike conduct. The fine letter, first reported by ESPN, said the act "could reasonably be construed as being in poor taste." Juszczyk was hit with the penalty on September 23.
Juszczyk did not take it quietly. He posted on X that he could not believe what was happening, and he later appealed the punishment. His defence was simple. He said he was not drinking beer at all. He was pretending to drink his usual drink, which is juice, and he claimed he had been celebrating that way for years. Looks like the league heard him out, because they backed down.
When he met reporters at the 49ers' practice facility in Santa Clara, the 35-year-old Harvard graduate seemed to be having a good laugh about the whole thing. He sounded more amused than angry, which is not what many people expected from a player who has been in the league for 14 seasons.
Still, the story has got people talking. Some fans think the league was too strict about a harmless bit of fun, especially when players are always looking for ways to hype up their teammates. Others feel the NFL has to be careful with any gesture that could be seen as offensive, even if it was meant as a joke.
NBC News reached out to Juszczyk and the 49ers for comment on the reversal, but at the time of reporting, there was no official response from either side. For now, the fullback can go back to doing what he does best, which is blocking for his team and bringing the energy on game day, with his juice in hand.
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