Only one person will receive a suspension for the brawl that occurred on Sunday afternoon between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints. The NFL announced on Monday that Tampa Bay’s star wide receiver, Mike Evans, will be suspended for one game without play after his unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness penalties that sparked the fracas.
At one point during the game, which the Bucs won 20-10, the Saints defense got off the field after an incomplete pass on third down, which led to New Orleans corner Marshon Lattimore jawing with Tom Brady and Leonard Fournette. Evans saw this, ran onto the field, and leveled Lattimore, which led to the two teams getting into it with one another. Evans and Lattimore were kicked out of the game, and now, Evans will not play on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
“After a play had ended, you were walking toward your sidelines,” NFL VP of Football Operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to Evans. “When you noticed your teammates engaged in a confrontation with Saints’ players, you ran toward that area on the field and violently threw your body into and struck an unsuspecting opponent who was part of that confrontation. You knocked your opponent to the ground and a melee ensued involving players from both teams. Your aggressive conduct could have caused serious injury to your opponent and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional.”
Adam Schefter of ESPN noted that the remainder of the penalties that will be handed out will come in the form of fines to other players.