With it being so late in the season and teams still vying for positions in the playoffs, tensions are currently high across the entirety of the National Football League, but presently stealing a lot of attention in the world of the sport is an incident that played out in Detroit this weekend that saw Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf involved in a conflict with a Detroit Lions fan. In the wake of video spreading around featuring the player taking a swipe at a man in the stands wearing a blue wig and leaning over a railing, conflicting reports have come out about the full story and what actually happened on the field.
Per The New York Post, former NFL player Chad Johnson has commented on the controversy in an episode of his podcast Nightcap, and he claims from unnamed sources that Metcalf was provoked with insults and racial slurs. He did not endorse the behavior of the player on the field, but he offered what he has heard as far as context for the event and what led to the altercation. It’s not made clear in his conversation with co-host/fellow ex-NFL player Shanon Sharpe if Johnson heard about what directly from Metcalf himself, but he told his viewers/listeners,
Obviously I am not condoning putting your hands on a fan or punching the fan but he did call him a racial slur, called him the n-word and he did call his mom a c—t. I think with those words being exchanged and the fan saying that, I think that’s where the action occurred that he, I think he threw a punch I am not sure if he connected or whatever. But he did call him the n-word and he did call his mom a c—t…. That’s a bad combination and it caused DK to react.
Ryan Kennedy, the fan involved in the altercation, has denied that he used that kind of language during the incident. ESPN has received a statement from the lawyers representing Kennedy, Shawn Head and Sean Murphy of Head Murphy Law Firm, and it says that the “allegations” made are “completely false,” and it adds that their client has been the target of harassment in the aftermath of the claims.
In the aftermath of the incident at the stadium, Kennedy told the Detroit Free Press that he called the player by his full name (DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf ), and he claims that is what prompted the physical contact.
Apparently, this isn’t the first time that DK Metcalf and Ryan Kennedy have crossed paths. Per ESPN, the player reported the fan to team security during his time playing with the Seattle Seahawks.
Kennedy was not removed from the game, and the NFL has not yet made any announcements regarding plans for disciplinary action for DK Metcalf.