As it turns out, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will be fined for his recent public criticisms of referee Ed Hoculi.

Per Chris Mortensen of ESPN, Jones will be asked to pay $25,000 for his comments.

The strangest aspect of this story is that Jones wasn’t even complaining about a call made by Hochuli in a Cowboys game.

In the wake of Hochuli’s Week Two blunder in Denver, Jones said that Hochuli is a “highly criticized official.”  A couple of days later, Jones elaborated.

“You know, that guy is quick to call penalties,” Jones said.  “He’s quick to draw.  He’s known for that. . . .  He’s very quick.  His crews call a lot of penalties.  Maybe the answer is to tell people like that, ‘Keep that whistle out your mouth.’”

The league wasn’t nearly as quick to penalize Jones, but they finally got him.

And, frankly, it could be that Jones was relying upon the interpretation of the anti-criticism rule that we obtained from NFL spokesman Greg Aiello.  Before Jones said anything about Hochuli, we quoted Aiello as saying that the rule is interpreted only to prohibit criticism of the integrity of game officials.  (Aiello later added “personal attacks” to the list of forbidden conduct.) 

This disclosure prompted some league insiders to scratch their heads in confusion in light of the plain terms of the rules, and it prompted others to think that it was now permissible to tell it like it is regarding the refs, as long as personal attacks or criticism of integrity are avoided.

So we think that Jones should appeal.  And we think that his appeal should prevail.

Meanwhile, Mort reports that Chargers coach Norv Turner won’t be fined for calling the Hochuli error “unacceptable” in the immediate aftermath of the Week Two loss.

And, frankly, that decision still leaves us confused.  If the league is going to prohibit criticism of game officials, then it needs to punish all criticism.  If the league is recognizing as to Turner that it might not be fair to expect a coach who has been screwed by a bad call to dig his teeth into his tongue during a league-mandated appearance before the media, then the language of the rule needs to be crafted to provide such leeway. 

Our goal is to make sure that every team has a clear understanding of what is and isn’t allowed.  We’re getting a lot closer, but there’s still more work to be done.