Allen Park — Following his open-handed slap of Kansas City Chiefs receiver Juju Smith-Schuster that sparked a brief postgame fracas between both teams Sunday night, the NFL has levied a one-game suspension to Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch.
The announcement was made by the league’s vice president of football operations, Jon Runyan, citing a violation of Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which prohibits unsportsmanlike conduct and applies to “any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.”
In a letter to Branch, Runyan wrote:
“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. Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game.”
Branch is now slated to miss Detroit’s Monday night game matchup with Tampa Bay and would be eligible to rejoin the team the day after the game.
Branch is able to appeal the league’s decision. If he goes that route, the case would be heard by Derrick Brooks, Ramon Foster, or Jordy Nelson, the hearing officers jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and NFLPA to decide appeals of on-field player discipline.
With a suspension, Branch would be docked a game check, $76,625.
After the game, Branch apologized for his childish actions, but also defended them as a response to unpunished actions by the Chiefs during the game, most notably a block in the back on Branch by Smith-Schuster in the last stages of the fourth quarter. That hit will be reviewed by the league, like all plays, and could still be subject to a fine, which would be announced Saturday afternoon by the league.
Coach Dan Campbell was also critical of Branch’s actions after the game.
“Let me start with this: I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable, and it’s not going to be accepted here,” Campbell said. “It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about. I apologize to coach (Andy) Reid, 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.”
I’m glad he is suspended. This will hopefully be best in the long run if he has to sit and watch and realize the full impact that selfish immature actions have on your team. Gotta be smart and disciplined to be a Lion.
He needs to talk to someone or go to anger management. It's too easy to get in his head and he's being targeted. Teams know he'll react, so they get in his head early. Tucker Kraft has been doing it since last year.