Arizona Cardinals have already imposed a fine of 100,000 dollars on head coach Jonathan Gannon following an incident on the sidelines where he seemed to hit running back Emari Demercado during an 22-21 defeat to Tennessee Titans.
The fight happened due to a disastrous mistake that Demercado made. In the lead, 21-6, Demercado made a break which would have resulted in a 72-yard running TD but lost the ball on the verge of entering the endzone.
The turnover was a touchback that gave the Titans the ball. Tennessee had since launched a fourth-quarter comeback of 18 points to take the game.
Sideline video footage had Gannon confronting Demercado and hitting the player with what seemed to be a blow to the lower stomach. The defeat decreased the Cardinals to 2-3.
On the next day Gannon admitted he was sorry for his conduct and said that he allowed the moment to get the better of him and it was not characteristic of who he was. He distributed the team and apologized to Demercado himself.
Although the team has mentioned that the incident will not receive any additional discipline, there has been controversy regarding the incident.
Analyst Skip Bayless referred to the actions of Gannon as a fireable offense and that the company needed to make a more significant statement.
Demercado accepted full responsibility for his game changing fumble by telling the reporters that “he made a mistake, there's really no excuse." He was also consoled by offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. on the sidelines after the play.
