The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without wide receiver DK Metcalf for the final two games of the regular season after the NFL issued a suspension following his on-field confrontation with a Detroit Lions fan. The league announced Monday that Metcalf has been suspended without pay for two games for what it described as “conduct detrimental to the NFL.”
The incident occurred during Pittsburgh’s 29–24 road win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday, when Metcalf was involved in a physical exchange with a fan seated near the field. According to the NFL, Metcalf violated league policy that strictly prohibits players from engaging with fans in the stands.
The policy states that “players may not enter the stands or otherwise confront fans at any time on game day and … if a player makes unnecessary physical contact with a fan in any way that constitutes unsportsmanlike conduct or presents crowd-control issues and/or risk of injury, he will be held accountable.”
Metcalf is expected to appeal the suspension, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Video from the second quarter showed Metcalf grabbing the jersey of a fan later identified as Ryan Kennedy, pulling him down toward the field, exchanging words, and appearing to swipe at him, striking the blue wig the fan was wearing. The fan could then be seen raising his arms after the exchange as stadium personnel intervened.
What sparked the confrontation remains disputed. Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson addressed the incident on his “Nightcap” podcast, claiming Metcalf reacted after hearing abusive language from the fan. He called him the N-word, and he did call his mom a c–t. I think, with those words being exchanged and the fan saying that, I think that’s where the action occurred,” Johnson said.
“That’s a bad combination [of words] … and it caused DK to react. I’m sure he will have to deal with some type of discipline. You know how the NFL is. No matter what’s said, they want you to be able to control yourself in that situation, but I understand.” NFL Network also reported that Metcalf had flagged the same fan to Seahawks security last season when he was still with Seattle during a game at Ford Field.
Kennedy has denied those claims. In a statement released through Head Murphy Law, attorneys Shawn Head and Sean Murphy said the fan “categorically denies using the ‘N-word,’ the ‘C-word’ or any racial, misogynistic, or hate-based language during the incident.” Kennedy also told the Detroit Free Press that he merely addressed Metcalf by his full legal name, DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf.
Neither Metcalf nor the NFL has commented further as the appeal process looms.
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