National Football League

Jets' Rex Ryan won't get additional fine from NFL

Published Feb. 3, 2010 5:25 p.m. ET

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New York Jets coach Rex Ryan will not be fined by the NFL for making an obscene gesture at a mixed martial arts event last weekend.

League spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed to The Associated Press in an e-mail Wednesday that Ryan would not face additional discipline by the NFL after the Jets fined him $50,000 on Tuesday.

The coach was caught on a cell phone camera flipping his middle finger at a fan during the MMA competition in Sunrise, Fla., on Saturday night. The image of Ryan quickly spread across the Internet and made its way onto the back pages of New York tabloids.

Ryan apologized the next day in a statement, calling his actions ``stupid and inappropriate.'' General manager Mike Tannenbaum had said the organization was disappointed that Ryan ``showed extremely poor judgment'' and would address the matter internally.

The league looked into the incident to determine if Ryan violated its personal conduct policy, but was satisfied with the discipline handed down by the Jets. Commissioner Roger Goodell fined Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams $250,000 for making an obscene gesture to fans in November, but that was during an NFL game.

Ryan led the Jets to the AFC championship game in Indianapolis in his first year as an NFL head coach, and made headlines throughout the season with his confident statements.

He had a playful feud with Miami linebacker Channing Crowder, saying he had walked over tougher guys than him while going to fights. That made Ryan a likely target of booing fans during a TV interview at the MMA event that featured former NFL running back Herschel Walker at the Bank Atlantic Center, the Florida Panthers' home arena.

``I want to just tell everybody in Miami, 'Hey, we're coming to beat you twice next year,''' Ryan said while fans booed during the ringside interview.

The Dolphins beat the Jets in both meetings this season.