San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw was ejected during Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks after head-butting an opposing player in a sideline scuffle at Lumen Field.
The incident began when Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold scrambled toward Seattle’s sideline, picked up five yards, and stepped out of bounds just as Greenlaw hit him. Officials flagged Greenlaw for unnecessary roughness on the play.
Several Seahawks players confronted Greenlaw after the hit, including linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who was not wearing his helmet at the time. Greenlaw, still helmeted, leaned over and head-butted Jones. Officials conferred briefly before ejecting Greenlaw from the game.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the incident afterward.
“That’s how it is,” Shanahan said. “You’re going to get baited big time, especially when you’re on their bench. They’re going to get close, and they told me that he head-butted a guy without a helmet. So, if that’s exactly what happened, then we’ve got to be a lot smarter than that. Can’t do that.”
Teammate Fred Warner said he tried to reach Greenlaw before the situation escalated but couldn’t get there in time.
“I tried to get there as fast as I could,” Warner said. “I was too far away. He’s helpless in that situation. He’s all by himself on their sideline. Of course, they’re trying to gang up on him, and good on them for baiting him into doing something. But we know we got to be smart in all those situations. … It’s just an unfortunate situation.”
San Francisco went on to beat Seattle 32-29 despite playing without Greenlaw for the remainder of the game.
The ejection comes after Greenlaw was already fined $11,491 by the league for unsportsmanlike conduct stemming from repeated confrontations with Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton.
Add comment