During the fourth quarter of the New England Patriots' 23-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills yesterday, Rob Gronkowski went all WWE on Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White and it's going to cost the Pro Bowl tight end a game check.
The NFL just announced that Gronkowski has been suspended for one game without pay for the forearm he delivered to the back of White's head, while he lay face down on the field. Gronk was penalized for the hit, but was not ejected from the game. According to ESPN, it is his first suspension since he entered the league in 2010, and he plans to appeal the decision.
The NFL's vice president of football operations, Jon Runyan, wrote the following letter to Gronk informing him of the suspension.
"Your actions were not incidental, could have been avoided and placed the opposing player at risk of serious injury. The Competition Committee has clearly expressed its goal of 'eliminating flagrant hits that have no place in our game.' Those hits include the play you were involved in yesterday."
Speaking with reporters after the game, Gronk apologized for his actions and added that frustration got the best of him following a string of no-calls by the officials.
Per ESPN,
"I just don't understand why there wasn't a flag," he said after the game. "It was a couple times in the game, and they're calling me for the craziest stuff ever. And it's crazy, like, what am I supposed to do? And then they don't call that [on White]. It was just frustration, and that's what happened."
The Patriots, sitting atop the AFC with a 10-2 record, will take on the Dolphins in Miami next Monday night.
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