T.O. gets $35,000 fine!

Originally Posted by ESPN

IRVING, Texas -- Terrell Owens has 35,000 reasons to never spit at an opponent again.

T.O. was fined $35,000 by the NFL on Monday for spitting in the face of Atlanta cornerback DeAngelo Hall during Saturday night's Cowboys-Falcons game.

Although it's more than twice as much as the last fine for spitting, the flamboyant receiver avoided a suspension.

That doesn't mean he is out of Bill Parcells' doghouse.

The Dallas coach said Monday "we don't condone that kind of activity," adding that the team may also punish Owens.

"If we did, I wouldn't make anybody aware of it," Parcells said, thus indicating that won't be a suspension either.

Owens wasn't ejected because officials didn't see it.


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Hall had called for the NFL to suspend Owens.

"I think, for what he did, he deserves more than a fine," Hall said on Sunday. "The guy has all the money in the world. He's making $10 million or whatever this year. So what's a fine going to mean to him, really? What he did, it was [vulgar], you know? But he's a great player, a great competitor, and what would hurt him a lot more than a fine is making him sit. That would get his attention. And that's what I think the league should do. They need to do something pretty [severe], because there's something wrong with him, and he just can't get away with this kind of stuff."

Hall was adamant on Sunday that Owens offered no apology.

Did T.O. even know he did it?

At first, he said he did, telling the NFL Network after the game: "I got frustrated and I apologize for that. It was a situation where he kept bugging me and getting in my face."

But on Monday, he insisted it was an accident.

"When it happened, we were jawing in each other's face, so it wasn't anything intentional," Owens said. "I didn't intentionally spit in his face. He's trying to make it seem like more than what it was by saying I hauled off and spit in his face. I feel like if I spit in his face ... somebody would've seen it."

This isn't the first "accident" surrounding Owens this season.

Among the many incidents in his event-filled season, was an accidental overdose that landed him in a hospital emergency room. His publicist denied a police report calling it a possible suicide attempt, saying he had 25 million reasons to live.

During a playoff game last season, Washington's Sean Taylor was kicked out of a game for spitting at Tampa Bay's Michael Pittman. Taylor was later fined $17,000.

Denver linebacker Bill Romanowski was fined $7,500 for spitting in the face of 49ers receiver J.J. Stokes in 1997.

Owens is making $10 million this season as part of a three-year, $25 million contract signed in March.

Not having Owens would've hurt the Cowboys (9-5) more, too, as he's their leading receiver and they are fighting for playoff positioning.

They've already clinched a playoff spot, but can win the NFC East with a victory Monday against Philadelphia -- Owens' former team.


Information from ESPN.com senior writer Len Pasquarelli was used in this report.