The NFL fined the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints $500,000 each on Thursday for unsportsmanlike behavior during their joint practice Tuesday in Oxnard, California, the league confirmed in a statement carried by NFL.com and the Associated Press.
According to the Associated Press, the league requested video of the tumultuous session at the Cowboys' training-camp base before announcing the penalties. NFL.com reported that multiple fights broke out during the workout, with Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer and Saints coach Kellen Moore at one point discussing whether to end the session early.
League cites sportsmanship push
"The Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints have each been fined $500,000 for the actions that took place at the joint practice between the teams earlier this week," the league said, per NFL.com.
The NFL said the Competition Committee has made sportsmanship - including at joint practices - a point of emphasis for several years, and that clubs were reminded by memo before training camp of their responsibility to prevent unsportsmanlike behavior that could lead to injury.
What happened on the field
AP reported that players from both teams threw punches in several skirmishes. A lowlight cited by AP was Saints tight end Brock Rechsteiner's body slam of Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson.
Saints center Erik McCoy threw a Cowboys helmet into the air during one scrap, and McCoy and Cowboys linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku exchanged punches in a sequence that ended with Ezeiruaku ejected - his second ejection of camp, AP noted.
Schottenheimer called Tuesday's workout "a little chippy" and said the team did not handle the discipline element well. Moore later described "non-football stuff" in the joint practice.
