‘Fine me later’: NFL decides not to do so after Takkarist McKinley curses on live TV during the draft
Takkarist McKinley said the NFL could “fine me later” because he cursed on live TV during an emotional outburst after being selected in the first round by the Atlanta Falcons.
But NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Monday that the league has no intention of doing so.
The defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons traded up during the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night in order to pick McKinley at No. 26. The former UCLA defensive end carried a large, framed photo of his late grandmother on stage with him at the ceremony in Philadelphia and started shouting:
“I made a promise to her and I stuck to it! I made that promise, man! I told her! Before she passed away, I was going to live my dream! I was gonna go D-1! I was gonna get out of Richmond, I was gonna get out of Oakland! I was gonna go to the NFL! I made that promise to her, man! Thirty seconds later she passed away! And this is who I do it for! This is who I do it for, man!”
Then into the microphone of the NFL Network’s Deion Sanders, a tearful McKinley dropped an expletive: “I completed the promise. That means every … thing to me. Excuse my language. Fine me later, man. Fine me later, man.”
Later that night, a more composed McKinley said during a video conference call with reporters in Atlanta: “I probably went on stage and probably said a few curse words and kind of slipped up. Probably got fined already before I even got my contract.”
He tweeted Monday morning that his display on draft night was “raw pure emotion.”
Twitter: @chewkiii
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