The NFL fined Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis a total of $25,000 for two separate incidents in the fourth quarter of last week's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, believed to be the biggest fine in the league this season.
Lewis not only delivered a vicious hit that knocked Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco's helmet off, but he also was punished for kicking at another player in the fourth quarter.
ESPN reported that Lewis will appeal the fine, but the 14-year veteran wouldn't take any questions in the locker room Friday.
"I'm on Minnesota, I'm not talking about no fines," Lewis said, referring to Sunday's game in Minneapolis against the Vikings.
An NFL spokesman said in an e-mail that Lewis kicked a Bengals player on a pass play in the fourth quarter, in addition to the hit on Ochocinco. The game's play-by-play report had Lewis involved on a pair of incomplete passes intended for tight end J.P. Foschi. He was not penalized on either play.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh defended Lewis against the kicking violation and the notion that he had crossed the line.
"I saw the play," Harbaugh said. "It was kind of an inadvertent trip that happened. They saw it the way they saw it. I'll say this about Ray Lewis: Ray Lewis is hard-nosed. He's a tough player. He's a physical guy. Ray Lewis is also the greatest sportsman maybe that I've met. He plays good, clean football.
"I guarantee you that the shot on Ochcinco was inside the strike zone and Ray, according to where he felt it was, he was shooting for inside the strike zone. It sure looked right there. ... I want to stand behind Ray in that sense. We can't speak for the league and what they look at and what they do or don't do. We respect that. I know Ray does, too. Ray Lewis is a good, clean, football player who respects the rules and always will."
Lewis said earlier in the week that he expected a fine for the hit on Ochocinco. The Bengals receiver, a close friend of Lewis', tweeted that he didn't feel Lewis should be penalized.
Lewis drilled Ochocinco on an overthrown pass on which the receiver was defenseless and coming down from his jump. He was called for unnecessary roughness, which gave Cincinnati a first down at the Ravens' 35 and aided the game-winning drive. The hit appeared to catch Ochocinco either on the shoulder pads or on part of his helmet, which sailed several feet.
The NFL's acceptable "strike zone" that Harbaugh referred to is below the neck and above the waist.
