Precedent, schmecedent.
Even if the NFL’s history when it comes to player interaction with fans had been to fine the player, the league had no choice but to suspend Steelers receiver DK Metcalf for initiating contact with a fan on Sunday in Detroit. And the Commissioner (or his designee) will have no choice but to uphold the punishment on appeal.
Although some are trying hard (frankly, a little too hard) to excuse Metcalf’s conduct by pointing to allegedly inappropriate comments the fan made to Metcalf, the response can’t be to walk over to the stands, reach up and grab a fan by the T-shirt, yank the fan down, and then throw a fist out of it.
If the fan said improper things to Metcalf, Metcalf should have complained to stadium security, as he reportedly did in 2024, when the same fan allegedly harassed Metcalf at a Seahawks game in Seattle. NFL players generally are larger and stronger than the vast majority of customers who attend games. There must be a bright line that no player can cross.
Beyond basic issues of what should and shouldn’t be acceptable by the operator of a business that invites members of the public to pay a significant amount of money to consume its product, failure to take swift and decisive action creates a major legal risk. If the next incident involves a player making solid contact with his fist to a fan’s face and causing serious injury, there would be massive potential liability — exacerbated by the failure of the league to effectively punish the last player who had done something like it.
And this one is very different from Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s shove of a Bills fan in Week 1. The fan was initiating contact with multiple players, pushing their helmets as they passed by the stands after a touchdown. Jackson simply reacted to the fan who initiated contact with Jackson by shoving Jackson’s helmet.
On Sunday, Metcalf walked over to the stands, aggressively snatched the fan’s shirt, and pulled down. Then came the punch, which some are splitting hairs to call not a punch. It was a punch, and it nearly connected.
Consider the lawsuit Fox is currently defending, as a result of Mark Sanchez’s off-the-clock alleged battery of a 69-year-old truck driver in Indianapolis. In this case, Metcalf was at work. The league failed to have safeguards in place to prevent Metcalf or any other player from approaching the stands and initiating contact with a fan. Beyond Metcalf, the Steelers, the league, and the owner/operator of Ford Field would have had major liability if the fan had fallen over the railing and suffered an injury, or if Metcalf had broken the guy’s jaw (or worse).
The suspension is fair. The suspension was required. Now, the league, its teams, and its stadiums will be required to devise a security plan that not only keeps customers from assaulting players, but that also keeps players (or coaches or any other employees on the sideline) from assaulting customers.
