NFL star makes major decision following suspension for punching opponent who 'performed Donald Trump gesture'
Topics: NFL, Donald Trump, Sport, US News
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Perry Knotts
Topics: NFL, Donald Trump, Sport, US News
An NFL star who punched his opponent in the face for performing the 'Donald Trump gesture' is set to appeal his suspension ahead of his next game.
The match between the Detroit Lions and the Washington Commanders on Sunday (November 9) saw tensions boil over after Donald Trump became the first sitting president in five decades to attend a regular-season NFL game.
Trump was met with loud boos from the football crowd to the point where you could barely hear what the POTUS was saying as a result of the jeers.
During the action, Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown decided to celebrate his touchdown during the game by pointing up at the box and then doing Trump's infamous dance, though the president was nowhere to be seen as he had already left.
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"I heard Trump was going to be [here]," St Brown said. "I don’t know how many times the president’s going to be at the game, so just decided to have some fun."
While the NFL player may have thought it was a bit of fun, Commanders' Daron Payne found it much less entertaining and punched St. Brown after he performed the dance.
Payne's actions took place in front of the referee, and he was ultimately ejected from the match as a result.
The NFL star received a one-game suspension following the incident, a ban that Payne has said he will appeal, according to John Keim from ESPN.
Appeals in the NFL are heard by one of three hearing officers who are hired by the league and the NFL Players Association.
Once that hearing has concluded, Payne will discover whether he can travel with the rest of the squad to Madrid for game week 11 against the Miami Dolphins.
St. Brown didn't seem to downplay his involvement in the incident post-game, telling reporters: "I mean, I think two plays before that, we got into a little scuffle, back and forth, whatever, this, that, and the other.
"And then we end up scoring, and I go up to him. I say a little something, nothing crazy, and then he decides to swing on me, so, I mean, it is what it is."
D-lineman Javon Kinlaw is one of those to have spoken out on Payne's defense and branded his ejection as 'some bullsh*t'.
"Daron only retaliated because the refs literally saw the first punch," he told reporters in the Washington locker room.
"I don’t blame him for the way he reacted,” Kinlaw went on. "Tempers got to flying, it is what it is, it’s a physical game."