Ochocinco Fined For "Bribe", Not Done Yet

NFL News - November 13th, 2009 - Written by John

Chad Ochocinco's attempted "bribe" didn't pay off in Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens. In fact, it did quite the opposite. Per ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the Cincinnati Bengals wideout was slapped with a $20,000 fine for his antics during an instant replay timeout.

"I was just being me," Ochocinco told the NFL Network after the game. "I wasn't going to do it for real."

Ochocinco never did actually hand the referee the bill or make a concerted effort to do so and he immediately handed the money back to his coach. It didn't even look like the referee noticed the money.

Ochocinco made a tongue-in-cheek attempt at swaying an official on the sideline as the crew reviewed one of his completions. The pass thrown by Carson Palmer went to the sideline, and replay showed that Ochocinco's toe was out of bounds as he made the catch. When he learned the play would likely be overturned, he borrowed a one dollar bill from an assistant coach and was caught on camera trying to discreetly hand one official the money.

Although the fine seems extravagant for such a petty, and comical, joke that serves well in a strict NFL environment. Especially after the near-brawl during the Washington Redskins/Atlanta Falcons game last week netted a total $30,000 in fines. But league officials said the hefty sum was largely because of Ochocinco's own words, calling it a "bribe" during a post-game news conference.

Ochocinco informed reporters that he knew about the fine since Tuesday, but waited to comment on it until Friday.

"Child wait till you see what I do in Pittsburgh," he said via Twitter. "Remember I set aside (a) fine fund before the season started, I'm just starting!"

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