Not all tackles are the same, I agree. But you fine a player for a tackle based on its context in the game. Just like a referee calls a game based on what happens in the game, not what people say in the press leading up to the game. Speculating about the motivation for a particular tackle based on comments made months and months ago is ridiculous.

The league’s statement that the fine was in part due to comments attributed to Serioux that he made ages ago in some tabloid ultimately costs the league credibility it can’t afford to waste.

If they really think that Serioux decided months ago that he was going to try and injure Beckham, said so publicly, and then tried to do it with a two-footed tackle from behind, the league should suspend Serioux for the season or throw him out of the league. In other words, either they (somehow) know that at the moment he went into the tackle he did it with forethought and intent rather than as just part of the game, in which case $1000 looks like a slap on the wrist, or they are just speculating and the fine is a “warning” to all the players not to hurt Beckham, which is insulting to the other players in the league and sends a message that MLS, as a league, is beneath Beckham.

If this league were legit, the fine for fouling Beckham would be the same as the fine for fouling anyone else under the circumstance, and idiotic statements attributed to a player months ago would be ignored.

Note to Don Garber – just because British people call the Sun “the paper”, does not mean it actually contains “facts”. Suggest you watch “So I married an Axe Murderer” for further clarification.

This policy that the league has of fining people for speaking out, i.e., creating headlines and interest in the league, is ridiculous.