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The NFL announced that Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch was suspended one game without pay for his fight with Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster on Sunday night.
“Your aggressive, non-football act was entirely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players,” Jon Runyan, the NFL vice president of football operations, wrote in a letter to Branch, per ESPN. “Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game.”
Branch will reportedly appeal his suspension, according to NFL Network.
Branch is currently set to miss the team’s Monday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7.
The incident occurred after the Lions fell to the Chiefs, 30-17, on Sunday night. Patrick Mahomes was seen trying to high-five Branch, but the latter completely ignored him and went up to Smith-Schuster. They exchanged a few words, and Branch proceeded to slap Smith-Schuster across the helmet.
PATRICK MAHOMES GIVES COLD REACTION AFTER LIONS PLAYER SNUBS HIS HANDSHAKE TO START BRAWL WITH OPPONENT
Smith-Schuster went to the ground, but would quickly get back on his feet and charge at Branch. Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco tried to get in between them to break up the altercation, but Branch ripped off Smith-Schuster’s helmet as players from both teams started to get involved in the scrum.
After players and coaches finally got the situation under control, Branch regretted his decision to start the bout.
“It was a childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it,” Branch said. “They be trying to bully me out there. I should have never did it. It was childish.”
Lions head coach Dan Campbell also condemned Branch’s actions after the game.
“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable, and it’s not going to be accepted here. It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about,” Campbell said. “I apologized to coach (Andy) Reid and the Chiefs, and Smith-Schuster.
“That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here. It’s not going to be OK. He knows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.”
Branch has already been fined this season for an unsportsmanlike situation. He was docked $23,186 for facemask and unsportsmanlike penalties against the Green Bay Packers in September.
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