Desperate for Money, NFL Fines Fred Jackson $5,000 for Eye Black Strip

Enough is enough. The National Football League, or more commonly known as the NFL, will be referred to for the rest of this article as N o F ***ing L ogic. They've announced that they are fining Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson $5,000.00.

On the surface you say, no big deal, athletes are fined all the time. Until you realize that the reason for the fine is that Fred is guilty of wearing a strip of eye black that doesn't measure up to No F***ing Logic standards.

Donte Whitner was also fined $7,500.00 this week, but his fine was for taunting. It turns out Whitner actually made a play on defense and felt it necessary to let the Falcons bench know that he did something right. But that is a whole different story.

It is bad enough already that No F***ing Logic had to create their own network, so that people that have not subscribed to it can't watch Thursday night games from their homes without paying an extra charge. Or that they put fees on organizations that run fantasy football leagues, trading cards, apparel, video games, etc.

Every sponsor that has that little football logo on their advertisements to show that the league has endorsed their product, you know that they are paying a king's ransom for that right. They are quite simply a greedy, money-hungry organization, no matter how you try to analyze it.

They now deem it necessary to penalize the least assuming player you could possibly imagine for something he has been already doing for the past 47 games. This is just plain illogical to me.

What is funny, is that for the longest time I thought Jackson was paying homage to the Bills defenders, as the black eye would eventually get smeared during the course of the game, and there would be a line running across the three III's, so it resembled D-ttt (as in D-Fence).

Obviously, I was wrong, but the fact is that it was there for everyone to see, and the idiots at No F***ing Logic headquarters saw no problem with it for almost three solid years.

Fred Jackson, you see, is one of those rare NFL players that made it all the way to the pros from a tiny Division III school, Coe College. As a reminder of where Fred has come from, he writes a small D-III under his eye with the eye black players use to help shield their eyes from the sun.

Consider this as kind of an homage to the underdogs who have dreams that rarely get a chance to be fulfilled. Fred Jackson is an inspiration to the little guy.

This is something Fred has done since his first game with the Bills back in 2007. He has been doing this every week, every game, and not once has No F***ing Logic reached out to him and said that this is not up to code. Please stop the practice.

Instead, without any warning, they just decide to randomly fine him the five grand. Why now? Is it because he is getting close to a 1,000 yard season, and you want to nail him before he becomes a bigger star? Didn't have enough loose cash in your coffers to give your secretaries a decent Christmas bonus?

If you think it sounds like I am bitter, or angry, then you are correct. The Bills have had another frustrating season and amidst all the injuries, the losses and fired personnel, the year couldn't end fast enough.

There have been a few individuals that have stood out for me this year. Fred Jackson, Jairus Byrd, Aaron Schobel, Brian Moorman, Rian Lindell, Andy Levitre and Kyle Williams. Those are the players I will remember the most from this dismal season. But Fred Jackson is the one player that stands out the most - head and shoulders over the rest.

Most fines are typical protocol and don't raise that many eyebrows. The one unusual fine that I agreed with was when Bud Adams, Tennessee Titans owner, was hit with a huge fine for flipping off the Bills team multiple times after the Titans beat us soundly back in week ten.

Bud thought he was clever and would wait until Roger Godell left the owner's box after the third quarter before he decided to demonstrate his IQ. Bud, you are not exactly a class act either, so I will take advantage of this opportunity to remind everyone of your noble gestures.

It seems that Adams was trying to rid the organization of former demons haunting his club from prior losses they suffered at the hands of the Bills. As if the Nashville Miracle wasn't enough.....

If No F***ing Logic had any decency, they would have sent Fred a letter in the offseason and said that we feel the symbol you wear under your eye is not according to code, so unless you stop the practice, we will start levying fines against you. That would have been a fair and reasonable way to go about it. But not for the No F***ing Logic, no way!

But to fine Fred Jackson, who is nothing but a first class act? Fred does what is asked of him. He doesn't complain. He doesn't seek a ton of publicity.

Jackson has a workman-like attitude that is appreciated by Bills fans. They can relate to him. He takes a pounding each week, but finds ways to grind out additional yards each carry when no hole is there, which seems to be the case most of the time.

I respect Fred Jackson as much as a fan can respect a player he doesn't know in person. For No F***ing Logic to be so disrespectful to him, is something that just doesn't sit well with me.

The league should be embarrassed by this incident, as it is something that smacks of no class, and of a greedy and sinister big-brother-is-watching-you kind of organization. Apologies to all I offended due to the language, but I am trying to make a point here.