Lamar Jackson, quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, addressed a recent altercation he had with a fan during a media session on Wednesday. On Sunday night, Jackson threw a beautiful 29-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins that effectively won the game late in the third quarter. All of the action took place at Highmark Stadium. After Jackson scored a touchdown, his celebration and display of excitement immediately drew a penalty flag. In the moment, he permitted himself to be provoked, became the provoker, and got a fan ejected from the game.
The day of the agreement, Jackson explained in an interview, he had spoken for hours with Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta about the episode. Throughout this dialogue, Jackson demonstrated an awareness of the effect of his behavior. In a media session here on Saturday, he expressed remorse to the specific fan whose feelings he hurt. He emphasized the need for treating everyone with dignity at sporting events.
“Stuff like that shouldn’t be happening. It’s not WWE.” – Lamar Jackson
Jackson went into greater detail about the interaction. He made it clear that he wants players to ignore the noise and keep their heads down when dealing with online trolls. As far as the one-star reviews, he asked everyone to “chill out next time.” He understood that reggaeton was necessary in the game—which means trash talk, too.
“We’re playing football out here. So just keep it to football. I know guys are going to talk trash. I know the opposing team is going to talk trash. Keep it that way. But keep your hands and keep your objects to yourself.” – Lamar Jackson
The fight started just a few hours after another incident. Derrick Henry almost missed a frozen water bottle thrown from the stands as soon as he scored a touchdown at the other end of the stadium. This series of incidents has caused alarm about player safety, even prompting league executives to question the safety of their players.
To their credit, responding to the worsening situation, Ravens officials doubled down on their promise to put player safety first.
“Our player’s safety is of the utmost importance.” – Ravens official
Following the discussions surrounding Jackson’s behavior, league spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed that no disciplinary action would be taken against him.
“The matter has been addressed by the club and there is no further action from the league.” – Brian McCarthy
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