Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
The NFL typically levies fines against players who elect to flip the bird while on the field, but it appears as though they've given the Chiefs' Mike Vrabel a freebie. From our own Arrowhead Pride:
A league spokesman tells us that Vrabel was not fined for the incident.
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Ultimately, I'm not quite sure why he wasn't fined. I do have a guess, though, and it comes from a quote attributed to Vrabel in this morning's Kansas City Star.
"Maybe they don’t have it on film."
Another theory I'd like to present -- just because I find it amusing -- is that the NF L decided the gesture was justified. The Broncos, up on the Chiefs 34-13 in the fourth quarter, decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Chiefs' 18 rather than kick a field goal. Knownshon Moreno took the ball and ran in for six, which inspired Vrabel to present the New Jersey state bird. To his credit, Vrabel later conceded that the opposing team can do whatever it wants and that it's his team's job to stop them, no matter the circumstances.
After the game, 11-year-old Broncos coach Josh McDaniels asked his parents what the gesture meant. His mother responded by pulling him out of the league and signing him up for Webelos Scouts, where the salutes are far less phallic.
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