After the Monday night game between the Bears and Packers at Soldier Field, Packers safety Nick Collins yelled at a fan and threw his mouthpiece at him; the incident was captured on video.
Today, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the NFL has reprimanded Collins, but did not fine nor suspend him:
Ray Anderson, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, said in a letter to Collins that his conduct was unbecoming of an NFL player and reminded him that throwing anything at fans is not defensible, no matter the circumstances.
Collins was warned by Anderson to refrain from such conduct in the future.
Collins, for his part, did seem somewhat repentant, and the Bears fans weren’t blameless:
Two days later, Collins said “both sides were out of line” and blamed himself for not walking away.
The NFL investigation revealed that two Bears fans were screaming profanities at Collins but that there was no proof a racial slur was used.
Collins was given the benefit of the doubt because of the “he said, she said” and “heat of the moment” nature of the incident, according to the league.
This is probably the end of the story. The Bears will play the Packers in Green Bay in the final game of the regular season on Sunday, Jan. 2.