The NFL suspended Pittsburgh Steelers receiver DK Metcalf for two games without pay Monday, one day after he took a swing at a fan in Detroit.
Metcalf can appeal the suspension, which, if it is upheld, would make him eligible to return Jan. 5, which would be after the Steelers' final two games of the regular season.
Metcalf was seen on camera shoving his closed fist upward toward the face of a Lions fan leaning over a railing during the first half of Pittsburgh's Week 16 victory Sunday. He remained in the game.
The NFL said Metcalf initiated the physical confrontation.
"Metcalf’s actions violate league policy, which specifies 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," the league said in announcing the punishment.
According to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero, Metcalf reported the fan, Ryan Kennedy, to the league last year while he was with the Seattle Seahawks for calling Metcalf’s mother a derogatory word and then calling Metcalf “something we both know you don’t call a Black man.”
Kennedy denied using "any racial, mysogynistic or hate-based slur" during the interaction with Metcalf, calling any allegation "completely false," in a statement released Monday through an attorney.
The punishment removes Pittsburgh's leading receiver for a critical stretch as the Steelers (9-6) try to clinch an AFC North division title. Their final two opponents, Cleveland and Baltimore, are in their division. The Steelers hold a two-game lead over second-place Baltimore.
