SANTA CLARA -- Colin Kaepernick today said he would appeal the more than $11,000 fine he received this week from the NFL for using “inappropriate language” following a fourth-quarter interception against the Bears.
Kaepernick has insisted he didn't say anything, and he noted that Bears defensive lineman Lamarr Houston, who was next to Kaepernick when the alleged incident occurred, corroborated Kaepernick's account in an interview with The Chicago Tribune. Kaepernick appears to engage Houston as the two are walking away from the play but it’s impossible to tell from the NBC telecast if he says anything.
“The player that I supposedly said something to has been quoted saying that I didn't say anything,” Kaepernick said. “And I don't know him. So it's not like he would have a reason to just randomly stick up for me.”
Kaepernick said the NFL did not specify what it thinks he said in the letter he received about the fine. The side judge who threw the flag also has stuck to his guns on the issue, telling CSN Bay Area that Kaepernick “knows what he said.”
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Jim Harbaugh said he didn’t hear anything. “I don’t have a stance because I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t hear it. Colin’s always been truthful 100 percent of the time.”
The NFL made abusive language an area of emphasis during the offseason, and officials met with every team this summer saying they would crack down on everything from swear words to slurs to offensive language. Infractions are treated as 15-yard personal fouls.
So-called language fouls are $11,025 for the first offense and are doubled for a second offense.
The penalty on Sunday occurred at the San Francisco 6-yard line so the ball only was advanced to the 3-yard line. The Bears scored on the ensuing play.
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