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Donte Whitner fined $21,000 for hit, #LegalHitner t-shirt campaign begins

Donte Whitner has been fined $21,000 for his hit on Chris Givens. We look at a GIF of the hit, and discuss Whitner's #LegalHitner campaign. New to Niners Nation? Sign up here and join the discussion!

By David Fucillo
Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

49ers safety Donte Whitner tweeted out that he has heard from the NFL, and is facing a $21,000 fine over his hit on Rams wide receiver Chris Givens. In case you missed it, here is a GIF of that hit:

Whitner

I understand the idea behind the defenseless receiver rule, but the worst part about this fine is that Whitner was coming in with his shoulder and Givens rotated over and down after Whitner appears to be committing to the hit. If Givens falls down on his back, instead of toward his left side, Whitner's hit is directly into his shoulder, not his head/neck region. It strikes me as patently unfair given just how body motion works in this case.

Whitner is not taking this lying down, as he indicated late last week that he would appeal any fine. Additionally, he is drumming up support on Twitter, working up a t-shirt that will say #LegalHitner.

I'll post a link when the t-shirts are available for sale. Hopefully the NFL sees the light on appeal. I'm not holding my breath about that, but you never know.

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