The Detroit Lions have lost Brian Branch for their huge Monday night showdown against Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week, with the safety banned for one game after sparking a fight at the end of his team’s loss to Kansas City on Sunday.
Branch punched Chiefs wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster after ignoring Patrick Mahomes‘ attempt to shake his hand at the end of the 30-17 loss at Arrowhead Stadium.
Smith-Schuster got up and hauled Branch to the ground before players from both teams piled in. The Chiefs man was left with blood streaming from his nose.
NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan told Branch in a letter on Monday: ‘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.
‘Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game.’
Branch can appeal the decision but as it stands, he’ll miss next Monday’s pivotal game against the Bucs. It causes another problem for the Lions, who are already short in their secondary with injuries piling up.
Lions defender Brian Branch swung for JuJu Smith-Schuster, sparking a massive brawl
Branch grabs Chiefs wide receiver Smith-Schuster on the ground as things turn nasty
Smith-Schuster had blood coming from his nose as Chiefs officials pull him away from the fight
Players from both teams soon piled in, with some breaking it up and others getting physical
Branch said he had been goaded by Smith-Schuster and complained that referees missed him getting hit from behind by the Chiefs man during the game.
‘I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it,’ Branch said. ‘They are trying to bully me out there. (I) Shouldn’t have done it. I got blocked in the back illegally, it was in front of the ref and the ref didn’t do anything.
‘Just stuff like that. I could have got hurt off the play. I still shouldn’t have done that. There was a lot of stuff but I shouldn’t have shown it and I apologize for that.’
Speaking in the locker room, Smith-Schuster insisted that he had no lingering ill-feeling towards Branch.
‘I know he’s a better player than that, a better person,’ the Chiefs man told reporters. ‘He’ll learn from his mistakes.’
Lions head coach Dan Campbell also offered no excuses for Branch’s actions.
‘I love Brian Branch, but what he did was inexcusable,’ Campbell told reporters at Arrowhead after the game.
‘It’s not going to be accepted here. It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about.
‘I apologize to coach (Andy) Reid and the Chiefs and Schuster. That’s not okay. That’s not what we do here, and it’s not going to be okay. He knows it, our team knows it.’
The Lions are 4-2 after Sunday night’s loss and face an in-form, albeit also injury-depleted, Buccaneers team spearheaded by Baker Mayfield next Monday night.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .