The NFL has suspended Washington Commanders defensive tackled Daron Payne one game after he sucker punched Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in the second quarter of their Week 10 matchup.
As St. Brown approached Payne following Detroit’s third touchdown of the game, the Commanders defender swung his right into the chin/neck area of St. Brown. The infraction immediately drew a flag and resulted in an immediate ejection.
According to St. Brown, it all started a few plays earlier with a post-play scrum. And after the touchdown, he admitted he said something to Payne that clearly drew his ire.
“We end up scoring, and I go up to him. I say a little something—nothing crazy—and he decides to swing on me. It is what it is,” St. Brown said (per Detroit Football Network).
Commanders defender Javon Kinlaw has a very different interpretation of what happened. He accused St. Brown of being the first to throw a punch—although as of this publishing there have not been any leaked video or images of this occurring.
“I just felt like in the moment we were being cheated, to be honest,” Kinlaw said. “Daron only retaliated because the refs literally saw the first punch, you know what I’m saying? I don’t blame him for the way he reacted, you know and tempers got to be flying.”
The scuffle that St. Brown was referring to clearly did happen, but there are no good shots of it. On the play, we see St. Brown get ridden into the ground by Commanders defensive back Quan Martin. The camera cuts away and then a few seconds later, we see the final moments of an unseen scuffle.
Kinlaw, himself, lost his cool shortly after. He appeared to shove an official following Detroit’s two-point conversion. That drew a penalty, but he was able to stay in the game.
Payne will be able to appeal the suspension, but for now, he’s slated to miss Washington’s Week 11 game against the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain.
