Moss fined $5,000 for shoving match in Bears game

MINNEAPOLIS -- Randy Moss was fined $5,000 by the NFL for his role in a scuffle during last Sunday's game between the Vikings and Chicago Bears.

The league informed the Vikings on Friday about the fine against the star receiver, team spokesman Bob Hagan said Saturday.

Moss' agent, Dante DiTrapano, said he and his client had not received official notice from the league but will file an appeal when they do.

"It just seems to me like if anybody got fined it should have been the player with the illegal hit," DiTrapano said. "Players protect their teammates, and I think that's all Randy was doing."

The confrontation started after Bears safety Todd Johnson hit receiver Nate Burleson hard and late during a fourth-quarter incompletion. Johnson drew a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness because he appeared to lower his shoulder into Burleson's head.

Burleson didn't object to the hit at the time but Moss ran up to Johnson after the play. That touched off a shoving match between several players on both teams, and postgame accusations from Moss of dirty play, which Bears coach Lovie Smith disputed.