The Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints have been fined $500,000 by the NFL each because multiple brawls ruined their joint practice held in Oxnard, Calif., the league confirmed Thursday. Good sportsmanship at the joint practice sessions has been highlighted the last few seasons.
“The Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints have each been fined $500,000 for the actions that took place at the joint practice between the teams earlier this week,” reads an NFL statement.
Many fights occurred during the joint practice Tuesday, which led Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer and Saints coach Kellen Moore to think of shortening practice altogether.
Schottenheimer noted that his team wasn’t as disciplined as they should have been during the session: “There’s a discipline element to playing this football game, and unfortunately, we didn’t handle that very well today.”
The NFL had already told every team that they would need their coaches and players on their best, sportsmanship-wise. The league also told coaches that players’ lack of discipline during a joint practice session may lead to injury.
The Cowboys will play against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, which would be their second preseason game of the summer, and the Saints will play the Rams in Inglewood on Saturday as their second game in the exhibition schedule.
