Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has apologized to the fan he exchanged shoves with during Baltimore’s Week 1 defeat to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Following DeAndre Hopkins’ touchdown in the third quarter at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, several Ravens players celebrated at the back of the endzone near the crowd.
A fan in a Bills jersey could be seen reaching out and shoving Hopkins’ helmet as he walked past before doing similar to Jackson. The two-time NFL MVP then turned around and pushed the fan with two hands in the chest.
On Wednesday, Jackson apologized for his involvement in the incident.
“I believe everyone saw what happened. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t try to (gestured pushing), it just happened,” the 28-year-old told reporters. “I got pushed (in the head), and (I was) like: ‘What?’
“I thought I was outside. I wasn’t even thinking about me being out there on the field. But my apologies to that (person) – whoever that was – I don’t know who it was. My apologies to him. Just chill next time. You can talk trash and stuff, but keep your hands to yourself.”
According to the Associated Press, the fan was ejected by stadium security and has been banned from all NFL games and events. CNN Sports has contacted the Bills for comment.
Jackson was asked whether he’s heard about any potential disciplinary action from the NFL related to the pushing incident, but the two-time MVP said he hasn’t.
“I talked to (Ravens executive vice president) Eric (DeCosta). Eric talked to me about it. The league talked to Eric to talk to me about it,” Jackson said.
Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh said “as far as I know” there would be no punishment for Jackson, adding: “I think we’re in a really good spot with that.”
CNN Sports has contacted the NFL to ask whether the league is considering handing out any disciplinary action to Jackson.
Jackson was also asked about Bills fans throwing objects onto the field after a water bottle could be seen landing near the endzone after Ravens running back Derrick Henry scored a fourth-quarter touchdown on Sunday.
“That’s crazy. Stuff like that shouldn’t be happening. This is not WWE. We’re playing football out here,” he said. “Don’t make me look bad, Flock Nation, don’t make me look bad – but I’ve never seen one of our fans do anything like that to an opposing team.
“So, just keep it football. (You can) talk trash, I know (people are) going to talk trash. I know the opposing team is going to talk trash, so keep it that way. But keep your hands and keep your objects to yourself.”
The Ravens lost 41-40 to the Bills on Sunday in a classic game, one which could be pivotal to playoff seedings come the end of the season.
It was a contest where Baltimore lead for the majority of it, including a 15-point lead with under four minutes remaining until Buffalo mounted a late comeback to win.
Baltimore hosts the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 looking to get its first win of the season. And Harbaugh said his team is hoping to learn from the disappointment of last week, not get bogged down by it.
“You’re going to have those (type of defeats) in this league. It’s the NFL and it happens,” Harbaugh told reporters on Wednesday. “We’ve been in a lot of games over the years where we’ve had leads.
“It doesn’t really matter how you lose them, it matters that you lost them, and you have to find a way to come back and play the next week and improve. The opportunity of failure or disappointment is the opportunity that brings into sharp focus all of the things that you need to get better at because every single person is looking at every single thing that they didn’t do as well as they wanted to do in their mind.”
