The NFL has suspended Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf for two games without pay after he threw a punch at a Detroit Lions fan during an altercation at the Ford Field on Sunday.
Per ESPN, the NFL in a statement explained that Metcalf was suspended for “conduct detrimental to the NFL for initiating a physical confrontation with a fan.”
The NFL also stated that the 28-year-old’s actions went against a league policy which stipulates that “players may not enter the stands or otherwise confront fans at any time on game day and … if a player makes unnecessary physical contact with a fan in any way that constitutes unsportsmanlike conduct or presents crowd-control issues and/or risk of injury, he will be held accountable.”
A source told ESPN‘s Adam Schefter that Metcalf intends to appeal his suspension. Metcalf will lose $555,556 if his two-game suspension stands.
The Detroit Lions fan who got into the altercation with Metcalf later identified himself as Ryan Kennedy. In the aftermath of the altercation, a Michigan law firm stated that Kennedy never used any racial slur, “misogynistic, or hate-based language during the incident.”
“These allegations are completely false,” Shawn Head and Sean Murphy of Head Murphy Law Firm said in the statement.
The statement said that Kennedy had been subjected to “harassment, threats and messages advocating violence” after social media reports claimed that he hurled a racial slur at Metcalf and also used an inflammatory word against the NFL star’s mother.
It appears Sunday’s incident wasn’t the first time Metcalf and Kennedy had been involved in a tense encounter, as a source told ESPN‘s Brady Henderson that the NFL star had previously reported the Lions fan to the Seattle Seahawks’ team security. Metcalf was playing for the Seahawks at the time.
Following the altercation, Kennedy told the Detroit Free Press that he was “a little shocked. Like everyone’s talking to me. I’m a little rattled, but I just want the Lions to win, baby.”
“My words don’t matter because it was on camera,” Kennedy added. He was also asked what his name was, but he initially did not disclose it. “My name is ‘Biggest Detroit Lions Fan Ever that got attacked by DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf,’” he said.
Kennedy later disclosed his name after after he was asked again. “What, my full name isn’t is DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf,” Kennedy said. “He doesn’t like his government name. I called him that and then he grabbed me and ripped my shirt. I’m a little shocked. Like everyone’s talking to me. I’m a little rattled, but I just want the Lions to win, baby.”
Tracy Wolfson, who is a CBS sideline reporter, witnessed the altercation. “He came over because the fan in the stands was holding a ‘4’ Pittsburgh jersey, he went over and the fan said something to him,” Wolfson said on the broadcast. “Obviously, Metcalf did not like what he said and you saw the swipe there. No Steelers came over to him and mentioned anything, we’ll see if the league takes action, guys.”
Another angle of the DK Metcalf incident ????
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) December 22, 2025
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