The NFL fined San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk $14,926 for “engaging in an offensive demonstration” after he pretended to drink a beverage while celebrating during the team’s game against the Miami Dolphins last Sunday. The league says he mimicked “chugging a beer,” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
There’s one problem: Juszczyk says he wasn’t pretending to drink beer at all.
“I don’t know how else to say it, I wasn’t drinking beer in my celebration,” Juszczyk, 35, said Thursday. “I think you guys all know my nickname is ‘Juice.’ I have ‘Juice’ on my pads, the stadium yells ‘Juice’ when I catch the ball; when I celebrate, I celebrate by drinking juice. It’s been that way for years.”
Juszczyk said 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan approached him at practice this week to tell him about the fine, and he assumed it was a joke.
“I thought maybe he was just messing with me,” Juszczyk said. He soon learned the fine notice was real when it hit his inbox.
“So, I was surprised as anybody when I got fined this past week,” he said.
The fine set off pushback well beyond the 49ers locker room. Juszczyk and his wife posted on social media showing the drinking gesture has been part of his celebration routine for years. Teammate George Kittle backed him up on X: “Can confirm he doesn’t really drink beer but is a good guy.”
Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who was also fined for a gesture during Sunday’s game against the Texans, said the situation shows players need stronger backing from their union.
“I think this is where the superstars have to get in with the NFLPA and fight for our money,” Chase said. “If he’s getting fined for doing a drinking juice gesture, then I’m getting fined for an elbow and doing the first down thing, I mean, I can’t really do much about it.”
Hall of Fame-bound J.J. Watt also weighed in publicly, writing on social media: “For a guy whose nickname is Juice, could it not be ‘reasonably construed’ that he is drinking… stay with me here… Juice?”
This is not Juszczyk’s only fine of the season. He was also docked $20,033 in Week 1 for an illegal helmet block. He says he plans to appeal both penalties at a hearing next week.
“I don’t even drink beer,” Juszczyk said. “I maybe drink like five times a year in the offseason. And it’s usually with George because he pressures me. So that’s a whole ‘nother side to me.”
In the meantime, he’s not taking it too seriously. Juszczyk showed up to Thursday’s media session with a water bottle wrapped in tape, labeled “Not Beer.” Kittle says he’s already floating a new nickname for his teammate.
“I think we’re going to sign a petition to Juice’s new nickname is Beer now,” Kittle said. “So, that’s his new thing.”
