The Detroit Lions have lost Brian Branch for one game, with the safety banned without pay for sparking a fight at the end of his team’s loss to Kansas City on Sunday night.
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 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It adds insult to injury 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
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.’
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