Running back Marshawn Lynch of the Oakland Raiders is facing fines and a possible suspension from playing for coming in contact with an official during a team scuffle. The team fight occurred during Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs which resulted in Lynch getting ejected from the game.
The incident is being reviewed by the NFL and they will come up with a conclusion soon. Multiple fines are already expected to be given to Lynch. However, the review process is taking quite a bit since a suspension could be added as well.
The incident that started a team brawl
During Thursday Night Football, the Chiefs had the lead on the Raiders, who were playing at home in Oakland. The Raiders were driving the ball when quarterback Derek Carr was tackled by a few Chiefs. One of them was cornerback Marcus Peters.
Peters came in a little hard while Carr was practically down. The Raiders’ offensive line did not take Peters’s tackle too well, which looked like a late hit, and started shoving the cornerback. Both teams got involved in the mix, as Lynch came running from the sidelines.
While Lynch came to break up the scuffle between his teammates and Peters, who was an old teammate of Lynch, an official got in the mix as well. Lynch pulled the official out of the way while breaking up the fight.
The official took it as an aggressive contact and threw the flag.
Possible consequences
Because of this incident, Lynch is facing multiple fines. One of them is unsportsmanlike conduct for $12,154 and another is for unnecessarily entering a fight area for $6,076. The third is the most painful one of them all, and it is for making physical contact with an official at $30,387.
The first and last fines listed above could possibly be erased if Lynch could prove that he went into the brawl with good intentions, which was to stop his old teammate Marcus Peters from the Kansas City Chiefs from being bum rushed by his new teammates. As videos show, Lynch looks like he is trying to break up the fight.
For sure, he did not need to run into the fight from the sidelines.
Lynch should have stayed in his place and let the officials handle the situation.
The game
The Kansas City Chiefs had the lead on the Oakland Raiders at many points of the game. In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had the game in the bag, but Carr and the Raiders made a final triumphant drive.
The Raiders won the game with no time left as two holding fouls were held against the Chiefs. At that point, the Chiefs had the lead 30-24, and the Raiders made a final touchdown, via Carr to Michael Crabtree. That touchdown pass was the third attempt, as the first two, which were incomplete, were revived on account of two holding calls against the Chiefs.
The final score of this gruesome match was 31-30, as kicker Giorgio Travecchio made the extra point with no time left. The victory puts the Raiders at .500 and keeps their playoff hopes alive. The loss was the second one in a row for the Chiefs and cut into their lead in the AFC West.
