Seahawks, Pete Carroll collectively penalized, fined for CBA violation
The NFL has stripped the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks of two days of minicamp practice next year as punishment for violations of the collectively bargained rules on contact in offseason practices, league spokesman Greg Aiello told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday.
The team and coach Pete Carroll were also fined for the violation, which occurred during their June minicamp, a person with knowledge of the decision said, adding that the team was considered a repeat offender over multiple years.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league did not confirm the fine, first reported by ESPN, which said the Seahawks and Carroll were collectively docked more than $300,000.
"(Seattle) will forfeit its first two days of on-field double practices during its 2015 mandatory minicamp for veteran players and will be permitted a single 2½-hour on-field practice session on the final day of its minicamp," Aiello told USA TODAY Sports by e-mail.
"Seahawks players will be paid for the cancelled practice sessions. The violation was for permitting the club's players to engage in excessive levels of on-field physical contact during the team's 2014 mandatory minicamp for veteran players."
The Seahawks were also fined and lost two OTA practices for a violation of contact rules in 2012.
The latest infraction came to light because of publicly available video of the incident, the person with knowledge of the decision said.
Neither the person nor the league said on which day(s) the violation was considered to have occurred. ESPN reported it was June 16. On June 18, cornerback Richard Sherman and receiver Phil Bates got into a fight that was caught by local TV cameras.
At the NFL Players Association's annual meetings in March, the union adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward violations of CBA contact rules, meaning it would pursue discipline in concert with the league even if the team's union representative didn't want to.
NFLPA president Eric Winston is a member of the Seahawks, but he didn't sign until July 29.
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