Steelers Hines Ward Jaw-Dropping "I'll Pay The Fine" 2009 Response Was First Sign Of Coming Rebellion Against The NFL

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a beloved cornerstone franchise with a zealous fan base. The Rooney family has been at the forefront of important changes to NFL hiring practices. They put their money where their mouth was by hiring Mike Tomlin when he demonstrated he was the best man to succeed Bill Cowher 16 years ago. The Steelers and their players are also renegades who have repeatedly defied the NFL when they have disagreed with league policy.

The Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals after the 2008 regular season. The Pittsburgh defense was outstanding that season, allowing just 223 points. Since the 2008 season only the 2019 New England Patriots with 225 and the 2011 Steelers team that gave up 227 points before falling to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos have come close to equaling that team’s production.

There were a lot of highs in the 2008 season but after a vicious crackback block against the Cincinnati Bengals rookie, linebacker Keith Rivers the NFL stepped in to institute its latest rule inspired by the physicality of the Steelers. It would come to be known as the Hines Ward rule as the league took its first steps toward trying to take the physicality out of football.

Ward was coming off another 1,000-yard campaign entering the 2009 season, but he was in the twilight of a great career. The man who played with a smile on his face while brutally assaulting defenders was 32 years old and embarking on what would be his last great season as a wide receiver. Ward posted six 1,000-yard seasons in his 14-year NFL career and finished with exactly 1,000 receptions.

Despite posting eye-popping numbers, he is best remembered for his vicious blocking. Defensive backs and linebackers decried him as a dirty player, but the Pittsburgh fan base loved the former Super Bowl MVP and his vicious hits. During the 2008 season, Ward was fined $15,000 after two consecutive weeks of bone-crunching hits that were not penalized during the game. He was defiant after the fines were levied.

"I'm not doing anything illegal," Ward said. "It was a clean hit. I didn't stand over the guy or anything. I just celebrated the same as a guy does when he gets a sack. We'll see. I'm not going to change my ways. If they're going to keep fining me for that, then I'm going to get fined all year. I don't know if I hurt him or not, but that wasn't my intention."

The rule changes the NFL implemented were imperfect and were forcing wide receivers to go low against defenders. Ward decried the move as much more dangerous for defenders and that the defensive players could incur much more serious knee injuries. Early in the 2009 season, Gregg Rosenthal from Pro Football Talk reported what Ward was quoted by the Associated Press as saying if he had the same opportunity, he did against the Bengals linebacker in 2008.

“I’ll still hit him,” Ward said defiantly. “I’ll just get fined. There is nothing I can do about it. It’s either that or try to hurt somebody. So, are you going to fine me, or do you want me to end someone’s career? I’d rather take a fine than try to end somebody’s career, so I'm not going to change.”

Ward still played a physical brand of football over his last three seasons but the only fine he incurred during the rest of his career was for an excessive face mask in 2010 when the Steelers face the Tennessee Titans. Cortland Finnegan and Ward got into a heated altercation in 2010. Ward was involved in one more major incident during his NFL tenure but this time he was not the perpetrator.

In the first meeting between the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in November 2011, Ray Lewis earned a $20,000 fine for a devasting hit on Ward. The hit knocked the Steelers receiver from the game and the Ravens went on to win 23-20. Lewis was fined for an illegal hit on a defenseless receiver.

“You definitely respect them trying to protect player safety,” Lewis said after being fined. “You can’t stop playing defense the way the defense has always been created to play. When the receiver has the ball, your job is to disengage him from the ball.”

Ward and his defensive counterparts in the black and gold could not have said it any better than the Hall of Fame linebacker for the rival Ravens. On the football field, the all-time leader in receptions for the Steelers did not ask for or give quarters to opposing defenses. Ward could give as good as he got and would pop up with a smile no matter which end of the stick he was left holding.

Steelers 2010 Defense Was Directly Responsible For Emphasis On Player Safety Says Mike Tomlin

The NFL fined the Steelers players of that era regularly with Ryan Clark and James Harrison especially paying a heavy price for resisting change during the early days of player safety initiatives. Pittsburgh went so far as to refuse to ratify the 2011 CBA over the disciplinary process the league had instituted. The Steelers have not won a Super Bowl since player safety became a point of emphasis and have not appeared in one since Super Bowl XLVI against the Green Bay Packers.

What do you think Steeler Nation? Do you miss the renegade days of Ward and Harrison, or do you prefer the way the game is played in 2023? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.

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