George Pickens receives fine for profane eye black message

PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on SteelersNOW.com.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was fined $10,231 by the NFL for an explicit eye black message in Sunday night’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Pickens wrote “Open F***ing Always” in white letters across the strip of eye black tape that adorned his face. He said he was unaware that the eye black message was against league rules.

“Never seen it before,” he said. “Have you seen it before?”

A reporter followed by referencing that teammate Cameron Heyward had been fined in 2015 for writing his late father’s name on his eye black.

“Years ago?” Pickens said. “When I wasn’t in the league? So, nah.”

Pickens said there was no meaning behind the eye black message.

In total, Pickens was fined $20,463 from the Cowboys game. He was also docked $10,230 for throwing Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis down by his facemask at the conclusion of Sunday night’s loss.

Click here to read more from SteelersNOW.com.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2024 Cox Media Group