Teammates say Sapp fine unfair

Keyshawn disputes claims of officials and says they're picking on him for who he is and how he acts.

TAMPA - For nine years, Warren Sapp has reported to work in the same manner, skipping from the stadium tunnel across the middle of the field, opponents and their pregame warmups be damned.

The grand entrance is premeditated, one that has drawn plenty of dirty looks but never a penalty flag.

So Bucs players were a little stunned to learn that Sapp's antics in part resulted in a $50,000 fine Tuesday from the NFL for repeated abusive conduct toward game officials.

To many of Sapp's teammates, it's a case of the league's officials piling on.

"What it is, is, they're tired of his bull----," receiver Keyshawn Johnson said Wednesday. "So they're picking on him. Somebody is picking on him, I don't know who it is. But somebody is picking on him because they're tired of him. They're tired of his mouth. They're just tired of him. People get tired of you, they're going to do that sort of stuff to you. But he didn't do anything, other than going through the Colts warmup the first time."

Johnson is the first to admit he rarely takes Sapp's side on any issue. But he took exception to a charge by an NFL official that Sapp deliberately bumped into an official before Sunday's game against the Redskins.

"Clearly, you can see he's trying to get out of the guy's way," Johnson said. "If he wanted to shove him, he would've just bumped him and moved him out of the way. In so many ways, Warren has brought it on himself because he's a little loud and that's who his personality is. Somebody, somewhere, made a decision to pick on him.

"What did he do? We didn't get any fines, we didn't get any flags. The game went on. It was nothing. Then all of a sudden this guy gets a $50,000 fine?"

NFL director of game operations Peter Hadhazy issued the fine after reviewing incidents in three games. In a letter released by the league, he said further misconduct by Sapp would result in a suspension of at least one game.

According to Hadhazy, Sapp used abusive language to officials Sept. 14 against Carolina and Oct. 6 against Indianapolis, when Sapp ran through the Colts' pregame stretching line.

But Johnson, who walked with Sapp to the locker room after pregame warmups against the Colts, said he never spoke to officials, who threatened to penalize the Bucs 30 yards on the opening kickoff before backing down.

"I didn't see him walking off the field during the incident do anything. I was right there," Johnson said. "I actually was the one who stopped to talk to the referees: "Why you yelling at Sapp? What's happening?' He said, "He's running through their (workout).' I said, "He's walking on our sideline, what are you talking about?' He kept saying, "He's going to pay for this, he's going to pay for this.' But he didn't even do it. He didn't do nothing."

Derrick Brooks said he hopes Sapp gets a chance to have his fine reduced on appeal.

"That's a lot of money for what's being called verbally abusing officials," Brooks said. "It's not more than what any other player does. I think (Bears linebacker Brian) Urlacher blasted officials this past week and I don't think he got fined."

According to Brooks, Sapp's pregame ritual was further scrutinized after Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington warned against running through his team's pregame drills.

"Just last week, one guy (Arrington) makes a comment and before you know it you've got the NFL securing all these guys," Brooks said. "That's a little much. It makes it seem like we've got a team of vigilantes or something and that's not the case. We don't want to be perceived like that.

"You'd hate to say that we hope it doesn't play into people's minds that are calling the ballgame, but then again, perception is one thing versus reality."

Sapp declined comment Wednesday. Bucs coach Jon Gruden said he had met with Sapp and wished to put the matter behind them.

"You do concern yourself with the image you're portraying as a football team," Gruden said. "You don't want the image or the reputation that, "Hey, you're a dirty player,' or "This guy here should be fined, we need to keep a close eye on him.' But again, I'm not going to become all paranoid about it. ... Pretty soon, you're a basket case and you can't even get to the stadium."

Asked if Sapp's enjoyment of the spotlight creates scrutiny, Brooks said, "It could be. He's being himself. Sometimes, you get unfairly judged and sometimes people overlook it. But it's a part of him. And I can't ever ask someone not to be themselves."

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