"Osi Umenyiora insisted it was all an innocent mistake. He didn't realize the media interview session Wednesday morning was mandatory or that his absence would create all the fuss it did. He simply wanted to spend some time with his family. That's his story and he's sticking to it.

"It cost me a lot of money," Umenyiora said of the $20,000 fine he incurred for skipping the session. "I'm sorry about that. But at the end of the day, I don't know what I had to discuss with you guys between Tuesday's media day and Wednesday morning. It's not like we had a practice or anything like that.""