What's the fastest way to lose your job as an Arena Football League player? Hit a fan in the face with your helmet.
Quincy Butler — formerly of the St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys — was a cornerback for the Portland Thunder when he got ejected from the Thunder's game on Saturday after receiving a personal foul in the third quarter. He got upset with the ref ejecting him and threw his helmet, we assume trying to throw it into the boards, but he threw it too high and hit a young fan in the face, according to The Oregonian.
If you go to the 1:11 mark of the video at the top you can see Butler react to the officials telling him he was ejected and then throw his helmet. The video doesn't show the fan getting struck, but they do show Butler and a teammate going over to the crowd to presumably offer an apology for hitting the fan with his helmet. The incident led to Butler being "reassigned," which is the AFL's version of being waived, as the team announced in this release.
The Portland Thunder of the Arena Football League has reassigned Defensive Back Quincy Butler, effective immediately, for conduct detrimental to the team and the Portland Thunder organization.
All AFL players are contracted employees of the Arena Football League and are assigned to the individual franchise. The Portland Thunder is prohibited from making any comments regarding any further sanctions that might be imposed by the AFL.
