NFL star slapped with punishment for punching opponent in the face | NFL | Sport
Washington Commanders defensive lineman Daron Payne has been handed a one-match ban by the NFL following his sucker-punch on Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown during his side’s 44-22 defeat on Sunday. Payne, speaking through team-mate Javon Kinlaw after the match, maintained that St. Brown provoked the altercation. He has now confirmed his intention to appeal the suspension.
Should his appeal prove successful, he will be permitted to travel with Washington to Madrid next week for the club’s international fixture against the Miami Dolphins. Payne failed to register a single tackle in a match that will largely be remembered for President Donald Trump‘s peculiar mid-game appearance in the broadcast booth. St Brown performed a celebration aimed at Trump before being struck in the face.
The confrontation with St. Brown occurred in the second quarter following Detroit’s third touchdown: a 13-yard run by Jaymyr Gibbs. Kinlaw insisted St. Brown threw the first punch.
“Yeah, for sure, and [the refs saw it], too,” he said. “It’s some b——. 100 per cent,” Daron retaliated. “The refs literally saw the first punch. I don’t blame him for the way he reacted. Tempers got to flaring.”
St. Brown didn’t exactly play down his role when questioned after the final whistle. “I mean, I think two plays before that, we got into a little scuffle, back and forth, whatever, this, that, and the other,” the Lions star told reporters.
“And then we end up scoring, and I go up to him. I say a little something, nothing crazy, and then he decides to swing on me, so, I mean, it is what it is.”
St. Brown, a former First-team All-Pro, concluded the match with five receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown in the comprehensive victory. His quarterback, Jared Goff, stole the show.
The former first overall pick completed 25 of his 33 attempts for 320 yards with three touchdowns.
Payne, 28, was chosen in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft by Washington from the University of Alabama. The imposing defensive tackle was a PFWA All-Rookie selection and secured a Pro Bowl spot in 2022 after recording 11.5 sacks.
The NFL was unequivocal in its statement regarding his suspension. “During the second quarter, Payne was disqualified for striking Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown, a violation of Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which applies to ‘any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship,’ including ‘throwing a punch, or a forearm,’ and Rule 12, Section 2, Article 14(d), which prohibits ‘striking, swinging at, or clubbing the head or neck of an opponent with the wrist(s), arm(s), elbow(s), or hand(s),'” it read.
“Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Payne may appeal the suspension. Any appeal will be heard and decided upon by either Derrick Brooks, Ramon Foster, or Jordy Nelson, the hearing officers jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and NFLPA to decide appeals of on-field player discipline.”
