PITTSBURGH -- The NFL assured several of the Pittsburgh Steelers' top players during an unannounced closed-door meeting Wednesday that the league isn't trying to transform Hines Ward into Fines Ward.
NFL executive vice president Ray Anderson repeatedly emphasized during the meeting -- which included Ward, Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger, James Farrior and coach Mike Tomlin -- that the Steelers aren't being singled out for discipline.
"At the end of the day, I really got nothing out of that meeting. I don't know what they're really asking me to do," Ward told 96.1 FM's "Freak Show" radio hosts Thursday morning.
During a recent two-week stretch, four Steelers players were fined a total of $50,000 -- including $15,000 for Ward on two plays that weren't penalized by referees on the field. Anderson said the fines were to improve player safety and conduct, and no other reason.
"(The meeting) gave us a chance to get on the same page and, for lack of a better term, clear the air so this club could move on very confident that our interests are aligned with theirs and vice versa," Anderson said.
But Ward came away feeling much different, and he was clearly fired up when he called the 96.1 radio show Thursday morning.
"They said 40 percent of the fines that are given out are after a penalty is called," Ward said. "And if there's not a penalty, they review it, and then they start setting out fines after they review it.
"But that's kind of contradictory, because I had a 72-yard reception this year in Houston called back because they said that I had a pass interference call. Well, all they did was review it and say, 'Yes, the ref messed up, here's an apology, we're sorry.' They don't give me that 72-yard reception back.
"So when they look at the plays after the fact, they go back and review it, and they say, 'Oh yeah, this is a personal foul,' and then they hand out fines when there wasn't a flag. That ain't right."
Ward suggested that what's good for players should also be good for referees, and maybe the officials should be forced to pay after a poor performance.
"That was my whole argument, and they never really gave me an answer for that," Ward said. "How can you fine players because a ref may miss a call? You can't go back and then say, 'OK, yeah, I think that's a fine.' Well, give me an apology. Don't take $15,000 out my pocket, because you're not fining the referees for calls that they may miss in a game. All you do is give me an apology letter saying, 'This was an incorrect call, I'm sorry', and then move on.
"In my case, I was never flagged or penalized on the plays that I was given, but yet, they take $15,000 out my pocket. If it was an illegal hit, then the refs missed it. You can't go back and review the plays and then give out fines accordingly, based off what you say. The referees don't get a letter saying, 'You know what? You missed Hines' block, and then him and a guy got into a scuffle.'"
The meeting came about after Ward's fines caused Steelers chairman Dan Rooney and Tomlin to contact the league office for an explanation.
"There was really no clarification," Ward told 96.1 Thursday. "They stated what they wanted to state, and I stated what I wanted to state, but there was never a clear answer to, 'Is that right?,' or, 'Is that a double standard?'"
Polamalu, who hasn't been fined this year, has spoken out publicly against the numerous fines being levied, saying that the NFL is taking the physicality out of the game and coming close to turning it into "two-hand touch" and "flag football."
The Steelers' reaction prompted NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to send Anderson to Pittsburgh.
"Given the discussion last week and some of the comments that were made by the players with regard to the genuineness and sincerity of our player safety initiatives, we just felt it made sense to come here ... to engage directly with coach Tomlin and the players so we could talk things out and listen to them express their concerns about what we're doing," said Anderson.
Tomlin felt the meeting was productive, saying, "I think that's the start at laying this thing to bed and moving on and focusing on what we should focus on and that's playing football games."
Anderson stressed that an on-field penalty isn't required for a player to be fined.
"You've got seven officials at same-time speed, they're not going to catch everything," Anderson said. "We are particularly concerned about player safety violations and we will fine you even though you haven't been flagged."
Echoing Polamalu's comments, Ward says the physical nature of their inherently violent sport will be lost if the NFL makes his style of play illegal.
"If you do that, you're never going to see any good knockout hits at all," he told the Freak Show. "(It will be like), 'Look at me, let me hit you.'"
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