Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson has a price to pay for airing his opinions about NFL officiating.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson just found out there’s a price to pay when you choose to speak out. The NFL fined Johnson $25,000 for criticizing NFL referees following a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, per ESPN.
The Steelers lost to the Jaguars 20-10 on October 29. Following the game, Johnson aired his grievances with how the game was officiated. The receiver went so far as to question whether the referees were cheering for the other team.
“They was calling some stupid stuff,” Johnson said after the 20-10 loss, per ESPN. “They should get fined for calling bad, making worse, terrible calls and stuff like that. That’s how pissed I am. They cost us the game. I don’t care what nobody say. They cost us the game.”
Johnson complained about a referee’s call that negated a Steelers 55-yard field goal. He also complained about what he saw as inconsistent officiating of roughing the passer penalties. Johnson asserted that the Steelers were called for roughing the passer, but not Jacksonville.
“I didn’t like the refs today,” Johnson said, per ESPN. “They must’ve got paid good today or something, but they blew — that field goal, that hurt us coming into the half. We needed that.”
It will be interesting to see if Johnson continues to criticize officials in the future. The receiver has been seeing increased production in recent weeks for Pittsburgh. He’s had two games in a row with at least 7 receptions. On the season, Johnson has 23 receptions for 302 yards and one touchdown.
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