Ravens’ Haloti Ngata fined for kicking Shawn Lauvao

Last week Ravens DT Haloti Ngata got a little carried away and kicked the Redskins’ Shawn Lauvao. This week Ngata received the dreaded FedEx envelope from the NFL, and learned he will be $8,268 lighter in the wallet.

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Ngata unleashed his expensive kick against Lauvao after Ravens CB Dominique Franks was hit late (at least in Ngata’s estimation). Afterward, Ngata explained what happened that caused him to snap and kick the Redskins lineman (via The Baltimore Sun):

"“When I saw Lauvao do that, I kind of was just pissed that he was doing that and just nudged him,” Ngata said. “Kind of a heat-of-the-moment thing. That was the only thing. I was just trying to protect my player.”Ngata wasn’t penalized on the play and Lauvao didn’t look like he got hurt during the exchange. However, Ngata could still face a fine from the NFL for unsportsmanlike conduct.“No disrespect to Shawn because we know each other,” Ngata said. “It was the heat of the moment, and just was mad that he tried a late hit.”"

I guess the NFL didn’t buy the “I was just pissed off” argument. “It was the heat of the moment” also did not carry much weight with the league discipline guys.

Perhaps Ngata should have tried the old “stuff happens” defense. Or the ever-popular “it’s a crazy world” excuse.

Arguing that his foot slipped might have stretched credulity a little, but then again, when you’re trying to avoid a fine you should be willing to try just about anything.