Lions Player Apologizes for Starting Post-Game Brawl

Brian Branch isn’t proud of his actions after the Detroit Lions lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. 

“I did a little childish thing,” Branch, 23, told reporters after the game about his role in a bench-clearing fight on the field. “But I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the plays and the ref don’t catch it, trying to bully me out there.”

The fracas began when Branch ignored Patrick Mahomes after the Chiefs quarterback tried to shake his hand. Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster saw the interaction and seemed to react to the gesture.

Branch then delivered an open-handed strike to his face mask, sending Smith-Schuster to the ground with a cut to his nose. Before long, dozens of bodies hit the turf in a chaotic brawl. 

The third-year player later clarified why he was upset following the game.

“I got blocked in the back illegally,” Branch said. “It was in front of the ref, the ref didn’t do anything. Stuff like that. But I should’ve never did it. It was childish. There was a lot of stuff, but I should have showed it between the whistles, not after the game. I apologize for that.”

Branch’s behavior did not sit well with his coach, Dan Campbell.

“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and it’s not going to be accepted here,” Campbell said, adding that he’d apologized to Chiefs coach Andy Reid as well as Smith-Schuster. “It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about.”

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Branch — who was fined $23,186 for unsportsmanlike conduct against the Green Bay Packers last month in what was then his third fine of the early season — could be facing a hefty penalty and possibly a suspension for the incident. 

For his part, Smith-Schuster seemed to brush off the incident.

“I made a good block,” Smith-Schuster, 28, explained. “He obviously responded after the game. At the end of the day, it’s about the team win.”

“He’s a great player and he’s huge for [their] team. After the game, I expected to shake his hand and say, ‘Good game.’ But he threw a punch,” he added of Branch. “I know he’s a better player than that, a better person. He’ll learn from his mistakes.”