NEW YORK (AP) — Referee Tony Corrente has been fined one game check by the NFL for uttering some obscenities with his microphone on during a Nov. 4 game in Indianapolis between the Colts and Miami Dolphins.
The fine was issued Friday by NFL officiating director Carl Johnson. A referee of Corrente's experience — 18 seasons — earns approximately $9,000 a game. In the fourth quarter of the game, Corrente inadvertently left his microphone open during a conference with members of the officiating crew. During that conference, Corrente used obscenities that were heard by the crowd and the CBS television audience.
Johnson says the conduct "is inappropriate for a game official." Corrente has apologized to the Colts organization. It's rare for the league to announce discipline for game officials. One other recent case was in 2007 when umpire Jim Quirk pulled down Green Bay linebacker Nick Barnett down from behind in a choke hold during a skirmish in a game at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Quirk also lost a game check, worth $8,150, for "inappropriate physical contact with players." Quirk was involved in a similar incident with Falcons running back Jason Snelling on a kickoff return in an Atlanta-Tampa Bay game that year. And Quirk brought down Arizona's Elton Brown in a similar fashion earlier that season.
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