Regardless of what it was, something said or done by a fan at Sunday’s Steelers-Lions game prompted receiver DK Metcalf to approach the stands and initiate contact. The incident resulted in a two-game suspension and a talking point for the Steelers and others in the NFL regarding the lines that shouldn’t be crossed, by fans or by players.
On Wednesday, Steelers defensive lineman (and team captain and former Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner) Cameron Heyward was asked about fans saying things that shouldn’t be said to players.
“There is some inappropriate things, you know, but as professionals, we gotta keep moving beyond that,” Heyward said, via 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh. “You know, it’s easier in basketball, when you can just point a guy out and say, ‘Hey, get him out of here.’ Football is — there’s a lot more going on. But it shouldn’t be tolerated at all. I respect them as they come to watch us play, and they sure respect us as, you know, we try to put on a good show for them.”
It remains to be seen whether the league takes action against the fan. On Wednesday morning, the NFL said an NFL Network report from Tuesday night that the fan would not be disciplined was “not accurate.”
Metcalf, for his part, has received significant punishment. And it should send a loud, clear message to players about the proper reaction to verbal harassment during games — and to teams about having a mechanism in place to prevent a player who strays toward the fans from making it there.
