Soccer Star Fined $126K For Underwear Flash, Latest In Series of Sports Misconduct Issues

Danish soccer star Nicklas Bendtner

In the most recent in a string of unsportsmanlike conduct issues to befall professional sports, the UEFA, governing body of European football, has fined Danish player Nicklas Bendtner $126,000 for flashing the name of an unauthorized sponsor on the waistband of his underwear after scoring a goal. Bendtner also received a one match suspension.

Paddy Power, the Irish gambling company whose logo appeared on Bendtner's underwear, is not an official sponsor of the championship.

There is some debate and controversy over the severity of the punishment. Critics of the UEFA decision note that teams whose fans displayed banners with racially abusive language were fined far less than half of Bendtner's penalty.

I don't follow European football, but certainly the harshness of sports fines should correspond to the egregiousness of the infraction, as well as to the player's salary. Consider these recent incidents of misconduct in other sports, both of which are far more serious than showing one's boxers.

This past weekend, in the normally genteel world of tennis, Argentine player David Nalbandian kicked an on-court advertising placard in anger and injured a linesman, drawing blood from the official's shin. For his swift angry kick, Nalbandian was disqualified from the championship match (which he was winning), forced to forfeit $57,000 in prize money, and fined $12,500.

In the more typically violent (and far richer) NBA, Metta World Peace's flagrant elbow to the head of James Harden in April cost him a 7-game suspension and about $348,000 in lost salary.

Not sure what's going on in the sporting world, but perhaps professional athletes need to be reminded of several common childhood lessons.

1. Keep your pants on.
2. Don't break anything that's not yours.
3. Keep your elbows to yourself.