Lamar Jackson will not be disciplined by the NFL for shoving a Buffalo Bills fan who slapped the helmets of the Baltimore Ravens quarterback and teammate DeAndre Hopkins during a game Sunday night in Orchard Park, N.Y.
“The matter has been addressed by the club and there is no further action from the league,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement emailed to The Times on Thursday.
The Ravens did not immediately respond to a message from The Times, but a team spokesperson told Pro Football Talk on Thursday that the situation had been handled internally.
“Our players’ safety is of the utmost importance,” the spokesperson said. “We have spoken to Lamar, who understands the impact of the situation, about the incident.
“While we will keep internal matters private, we have implemented additional security protocols — both at home and on the road — to better protect our players and handle negative fan interactions moving forward.”
Jackson and Hopkins were celebrating with teammates after they hooked up for a 29-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter to give the Ravens a 34-19 lead. The players exited the back of the end zone and ended up near stands, where a male fan reached out and slapped Hopkins and Jackson on their helmets.
Jackson gave the fan a hard shove with both hands. While the fan was ejected from the game, and later indefinitely banned from all NFL stadiums, Jackson was not disciplined during the game.
The two-time league MVP later expressed regret for his actions.
“I seen him slap D-Hop … and he slapped me and he talking, so you know I just forgot where I was for a little bit,” Jackson told reporters after the Ravens’ 41-40 loss to the Bills. “But you got to think in those situations. You have security out there. Let security handle it. But I just let my emotions get the best of me. Hopefully, it don’t happen again. I learned from that.”
Addressing reporters the next day, Ravens coach John Harbaugh expressed support for his quarterback.
“Lamar’s down there celebrating a touchdown with his teammates just like you’re supposed to do,” Harbaugh said. “You talk about celebration and we want our guys to celebrate with one another. That’s the whole idea. I guess I didn’t know you’re not allowed to go close to the stands to do that without being attacked by a fan. …
“It’s unfortunate that you should even be in that situation. I don’t know how any of us would respond in that moment. I think it would be something where we probably would be thinking about protecting ourselves. I do think that. We have to understand that. You can always say, ‘Hey, I’d like to handle that a little better.’ But that’s a surprise when that happens in that moment, I think, for anybody.”
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