But one created Dec. 29 has caught fire, blowing past the 15,000- and 16,000-signature marks Monday. By Tuesday morning it was 17,500. It’s titled “Reverse Eric Weddle’s $10k fine for watching his daughter’s halftime dance.”
Comments were flooding in nationwide.
“It’s a pointless fine for a terrible organization. NFL stands for No Family Love!” wrote Shawn Wexler of Miami, Florida.
Sonya Rensch of Bismarck, North Dakota, wrote: “This guy kisses his daughter and gets fined and Michael Vick tortures, maim and kills dogs and he is still playing. The NFL is a joke that is why I do not watch football.”
Chargers spokesman Bill Johnston said Tuesday that a Times of San Diego request for comment was “the first I’ve heard of this.” He declined to respond beyond that.
Related:
- Chargers Fine Eric Weddle $10,000, Place Him On Injured Reserve
- Twitter Reacts to Chargers’ Decision to Fine Weddle
Joseph Koechling of Murrieta created the petition.
Koechling said he started the drive “because I’m tired of NFL teams like the Chargers punishing good guys like Weddle, while looking the other way when players actually do something atrocious.”
Union-Tribune sports columnist Nick Canepa has pointed out that Chargers punter Mike Scifres also had children dancing — and got the OK to skip the lockerroom after asking permission first.
“Weddle broke the rules,” Canepa wrote Jan. 3. “He’s a team captain. You go into the locker room at halftime. In all my years around football, I can’t recall a player not going in at intermission. … As for the $10,000 fine? He’s worth millions.”
Sportrac.com reports that Weddle’s five-year contract totaled $40 million. He became a free agent in 2016.
The $10,000 fine after the Miami game wasn’t his biggest, however. Sportrac notes Weddle was fined $15,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit in 2011 on New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
But none of that deterred Koechling, who wrote: “Chargers coach Mike McCoy released a statement saying that the fine was team policy. But the fact is, they had a choice in penalizing Weddle. At this late in the season, when the Chargers’ run is basically over because they have lost too many games, such a fine makes little sense. What’s worse, they also placed Weddle on the injured list, ending his season, and likely his career, with the Chargers.”
Weddle, who turned 31 a week ago, was left off the plane for the final game at Denver — placed on injured reserve.
“Tell Dean Spanos to reverse the $10,000 fine,” Koechling wrote. “Spanos must reverse this unfair and ridiculous fine immediately. In a time when we see so much bad behavior from NFL players, the Chargers shouldn’t punish Weddle for being a good dad.”