Monday night’s game between the Eagles and Seahawks included a sideline altercation capped by someone not in uniform throwing an accidental-on-purpose shoulder at Eagles receiver A.J. Brown. The two men then exchanged words, with the non-player and player giving it to each other in roughly equal measure.
Per the NFL, the person on the sideline is not susceptible to getting the same kind of ban applied to Eagles’ security chief Dom DiSandro. In this case the person not in uniform is a player. Per the Seahawks, it was practice-squad center Joey Hunt.
Two other people not in uniform can be seen taunting Brown as he leaves the sideline to return to the field.
The league explains that the player faces a potential fine for his interaction with Brown. The player does not, however, fall within the broad prohibition against making non-players on the sideline making contact or verbally jawing with players in uniform.
The incident underscores the point that people not in uniform should not be touching or barking at the players in uniform. It also renews a fair question as to whether too many people are on the sidelines during games.
It’s one thing, for example, for inactive members of the 53-man roster to be down there. Why are practice-squad players necessary to the effort? Perhaps the league needs to take a closer look at the necessity of every person who currently is permitted to be on the sideline during games. If there’s a way to further trim the sideline fat, the league should definitely do it.
