League doles out fines for incidents from last weekend

NEW YORK -- Tampa Bay's Ronde Barber was fined $30,000 by the NFL on Wednesday for punching an official during last Sunday's game with the New York Jets.

Two other prominent players, Baltimore's Terrell Suggs and Ed Reed, were fined $15,000 each for making contact with an official during the Ravens' game in Detroit.

Of the three players, only Suggs was ejected. The Ravens' B.J. Ward, who was ejected from the Baltimore-Detroit game, was not fined.

Barber inadvertently hit umpire Butch Hannah in the eye during a scuffle with the Jets' Kevin Mawae in the second quarter of the game. Normally one of the NFL's solid citizens, the Pro Bowl cornerback said after the game: "It was two guys with their triple testosterone running high, acting like idiots."

Barber declined comment after practice Wednesday. His business agent, Mark Lepselter, issued a statement saying he and the Bucs cornerback felt the fine was excessive.

"Although this accidental incident was regrettable, Ronde was simply trying to remove the opposing player's hands from his facemask," Lepselter said. "There was no intent whatsoever to harm the on-field official and Ronde immediately apologized to Mr. Hannah."