The NFL suspended Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Bobby Hart for one game Tuesday for unsportsmanlike conduct after he threw a punch in the stadium tunnel after Monday’s game.
After the host Bills blew out the Tennessee Titans 41-7, the backup guard confronted an opposing player and threw a punch, which missed the intended target and hit a Titans coach in the head.
“As both teams were heading to the tunnel, you walked directly across the field to seek out your opponent,” NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to Hart. “You approached him near the end zone and a coach had to hold you back as others shook hands. Once you and your opponent were in the end zone near the tunnel, you confronted him and immediately swung at him with a closed fist, striking the head of a Tennessee coach.
“Your aggressive conduct could have caused serious injury and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional.”
Hart, 28, is familiar with the Titans, having spent about a month with the team during last season. He got into three games for Tennessee last year, starting one, sandwiched between stints as a backup in Buffalo.
Hart is in line to miss Buffalo’s Week 3 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, a game pitting two 2-0 division rivals. But he has the right to the appeal, which would be heard by either Derrick Brooks or James Thrash, whom the NFL and NFLPA have jointly appointed as hearing officers for on-field discipline.
Hart is in his eighth NFL season, having played 85 games (67 starts) with the New York Giants (2015-17), Cincinnati Bengals (2018-20), Bills and Titans.
–Field Level Media