Given the sheer amount of testosterone and physicality that tends to engulf the game of gridiron football, it’s honestly a miracle that players don’t come to blows more often than they typically do. Whether you like it or not, scuffles are an inherent part of the game, and that’s why no one was completely shocked when a frustrated Daron Payne took a swing at Amon-Ra St. Brown shortly after the wide receiver’s touchdown celebration had ended.
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Towards the beginning of the Detroit Lions 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 10, Brown found his way to the end zone for the first touchdown of the day. He pointed towards the press box, where he believed Donald J. Trump to be seated, and proceeded to do the President’s viral dance move.
Unfortunately, Trump had yet to arrive at the game. Payne, however, had a front-row seat for the celebration, and he clearly didn’t appreciate the gesture, as he promptly swung at Brown’s head with an open hand.
The clip proceeded to go viral, and it even caught the attention of the former defensive end, Marcellus Wiley, who labeled Payne’s actions as “stupid” before suggesting that “nobody should be getting hit on the football field.”
According to Wiley, the real concern isn’t the blow that was thrown, but rather Payne’s potential motivations for acting in such a violent manner. Given the context of the situation, he can’t help but to fear that Payne’s decisions were driven by politics rather than simple frustrations over the way the game was going, which would be infinitely more alarming than the norm.
“What got into him, Daron Payne? Please don’t tell me that this is politicized… Please don’t tell me that, because Donald Trump took over the FOX broadcast of the Commanders-Lions game for nine whole minutes. Please don’t tell me that Daron Payne is one of them, and I don’t mean a democrat, I mean one of them. You know, the ones that are intolerant… Did he really hit that boy just because he did the Donald Trump robot?”
Of course, there’s no way of knowing Payne’s true motivations unless he is willing to share them with us. Nevertheless, the optics are bad with this one, and fans can expect to hear news of a fine, or perhaps even a potential suspension, being handed down in the coming days.
The game of football is violent enough already, there’s no need to elevate things even further. If anything, let this be a reminder that violence, whether it be political in nature or not, is hardly, if ever, the solution to your problems.
