Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch is receiving a postgame penalty for hitting Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster at the end of Sunday’s game.
Branch will receive a one-game suspension without pay, the NFL announced on Monday. If Branch doesn’t appeal the suspension, he’ll miss the Lions’ Week 7 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“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,” NFL vice president of operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to Branch, according to NFL Media. “Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game.”
The incident occurred as Lions and Chiefs players were greeting each other for postgame handshakes at the end of Kansas City’s 30-17 victory. When Branch walked by Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback tried to shake the Lions defensive back’s hand. Branch walked by Mahomes and didn’t acknowledge him, though.
Smith-Schuster appeared to say something to Branch after that. That’s when Branch struck Smith-Schuster, who was still wearing his helmet, in the face. Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco wrapped his arms around Branch, with Smith-Schuster charging at Branch.
The scuffle ended shortly after that.
Shortly after, Branch apologized for the incident as he explained why he hit Smith-Schuster.
“It was a childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it,” Branch said. “They be trying to bully me out there. I should have never did it. It was childish.”
Meanwhile, Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed disappointment in Branch.
“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable, and it’s not going to be accepted here,” Campbell told reporters. “It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about, and I apologize to coach [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs and [Smith-Schuster]. That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here, and it’s not going to be OK. He knows it, our team knows it and so, that’s not what we do.”
As for the Chiefs, they seemed like they wanted to move from the postgame moment.
“We play the game in between the whistles,” Mahomes told reporters of the moment. “They can do all the extracurricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game in between the whistles. And we thought we played a great game today, and we’ll keep this momentum moving forward.”
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