https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/dan-campbell-calls-brian-branchs-postgame-conduct-inexcusable
A brawl marred the completion of Sunday night’s Lions-Chiefs game. The league undoubtedly will have plenty to say about it. Lions coach Dan Campbell had the first word regarding the melee that unfolded after Lions safety Brian Branch struck Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the face as Smith-Schuster was extending a hand to him.
“I love Brian Branch but what he did is inexcusable,” Campbell told reporters. “And it’s not gonna 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, you know, [Smith-]Schuster. That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here. And it’s not gonna be OK. He nknows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.”
The league undoubtedly will pick through the many available camera angles in order to decide which players will be fined, and whether any should be suspended.
If there are suspensions, they should begin with Branch. The game was over. The time for any and all physical contact had ended.
Although the NFL went relatively easy on former Washington tackle Trent Williams for striking former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman in the face after a 2012 playoff game (Williams was fined only $7,875), the league has emphasized sportsmanship this season. There’s no bigger display of bad sportsmanship than for players to attack each other after the clock has reached zero. At a time when players should be saying “good game” to each other, hitting an opponent (and sparking a full-blown fracas) is the worst possible look.
The NFL claims to take seriously the messages that the highest form of football sends to all lower levels. If that’s the case, it will have no choice but to send the strongest possible message to Branch — and to anyone else who threw a punch or attacked another player following the conclusion of the game.
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/dan-campbell-calls-brian-branchs-postgame-conduct-inexcusable
