The Buffalo Bills fan who smacked Baltimore Ravens star DeAndre Hopkins – before being shoved himself by Lamar Jackson – has been handed an indefinite ban from all NFL stadiums.
The ugly scene unfolded in the third quarter when Hopkins and Jackson celebrated a huge Ravens touchdown to extend their lead to 34-19 – much to the anger of the home Buffalo crowd.
As the players got close to the stands, Hopkins was pushed hard in the helmet by an overzealous man in a Bills jersey, before Jackson then received the same treatment.
Rather than ignoring it like his wide receiver, Jackson took issue with the fan and shoved him backwards into the crowd, and the moment quickly went viral.
Now, less than 24 hours on, the NFL and the Buffalo Bills have acted quickly, handing an indefinite ban to the fan who encroached on the players.
As reported by Adam Schefter, per a team official, the man will be banned not only from the Bills’ Highmark Stadium, but also every other NFL stadium in the country.
The fan started the incident by first slapping DeAndre Hopkins on the helmet after a TD
Lamar Jackson then pushed the Buffalo Bills fan who kept slapping players on the helmet
He was ejected immediately after the incident in the third quarter on Sunday night.
‘I’ve seen him slap D Hop,’ Jackson explained after the game. ‘He slapped me, he was talking. I forgot where I was for a little bit but you’ve got to think in those situations. You’ve got security out there, let security handle it.
‘I just let my emotions get the best of me but hopefully it doesn’t happen again. I’ll learn from that.’
Most of the immediate reaction backed quarterback Jackson for hitting back against the fan.
‘I think Lamar saw the first one and took one himself,’ NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth said, watching the replay back.
‘I’m not excusing, you can’t go after fans in the stands but sometimes that gets a little ridiculous.’
Jackson said after the game that he let his emotions get the better of him with the fan
‘Don’t tell me Lamar Jackson did anything wrong here!’ NFL Insider Jordan Schultz added on X. ‘He was simply responding to a fan being utterly ridiculous and doing something no fan should EVER do — make contact with a player. Fans shouldn’t be touching players. End of story.’
Meanwhile, another ugly scene unfolded in the fourth quarter of the game, as Ravens star Derrick Henry raced into the endzone for his second touchdown of the night.
At the end of the play, a beer was thrown at the running back, narrowly missing him and the Bills players in pursuit.
Bills fans – known as ‘Bills Mafia’ – have a reputation for causing rowdy atmospheres, especially when their team plays in the late games in the NFL. They even have a ‘table smashing’ tradition when they tailgate before kickoff at Highmark Stadium.
Astonishingly, despite trailing by 15 points in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Josh Allen’s Bills team somehow came back to win 41-40 with a game-winning field goal in the final seconds.
But astonishingly, it was Josh Allen and the Bills who were celebrating at the end of the game
41-year-old kicker Matt Prater made himself a Bills hero by winning the game for his team
But they were being mocked by the rest of the NFL on Sunday for their behavior as their team were getting beat.
‘The Ravens have Bills fans crashing out tonight. This time someone throws a beer can at Derrick Henry as he pours on another touchdown.’
It reflected what had been a largely disappointing night for the Bills in the first game of a season, where many backed them to make the step into serious Super Bowl contenders.
But for the most part they looked a level below the Ravens, who blew them away with running back Derrick Henry rushing for 169 yards, as well as Jackson starting 2025 in fifth gear with 209 yards and two touchdowns.
