OK, nobody else is doing this, but I’m going to go ahead and start calling it “punch-gate” because I’ve always wanted to name something with “gate” in it. As you know by now, Washington Commanders defensive lineman Daron Payne punched Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in the face on Sunday night and was ejected for it.
The story got even deeper when it was alleged that St. Brown, much like Greedo, shot first in this whole thing. Then the proof came out that St. Brown did, in fact, strike first. Not that it really looked like much of a punch.
On Wednesday, he went on the St. Brown podcast and explained his side of the story.
Amon-Ra St. Brown admits he hit Daron Payne in the head
St. Brown said the whole thing started when Commanders cornerback Quan Martin drove him to the ground. Afterwards, Payne came up and started talking smack.
“…Payne comes out and bumps me, like, What the (expletive). So I hit him, and then he starts talking (expletive), and then I hit him again. And I accidentally hit him. I didn’t mean to, you know, jab him in the face. I just meant to, like, push him off, and I so happened to hit him in the face. At that point, I was like, damn, like, I shouldn’t have done that. Like, probably, you know, probably a flag, whatever. Ref was standing right there. He didn’t throw the flag. So that’s that. After I do that, though, he grabs my face mask, and there’s like a scuffle for like five seconds.”
St. Brown said after the touchdown, he talked what he calls “regular football smack talk,” and Payne unloaded on him with the big punch, and that’s that. That’s the story.
Again, St. Brown admits that he struck Payne first but says he wasn’t trying to do anything other than push his head, which is what it personally looks like to me. What Payne did is like 50 times worse. There was a ton of intent there, and he really cocked that thing back.
As a result, Payne is the one who got suspended, and St. Brown is the one who is likely to receive a hefty fine on Saturday. Speaking of punishment, St. Brown did not mention that he had anything coming his way during the show.
