Marshawn Lynch was unceremoniously ejected for coming into contact with a game official on Thursday evening. While the Oakland Raiders were able to win without him in Kansas City, further punishment always seemed likely and, on Friday evening, it came down via an official league release.
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Lynch was suspended for one game for "unsportsmanlike conduct" and, as part of the letter given to him, NFL VP of football operations Jon Runyan wrote the following:
"You made deliberate physical contact with one of our game officials as he was diffusing an active confrontation between players. You were disqualified for your inappropriate and unsportsmanlike actions. Your conduct included pushing the game official and grabbing his jersey ... You were not directly involved in the active confrontation that the game official was attempting to diffuse, nor were you a participant in the play that initiated the confrontation. You were the only player from either team who ran from the sideline to midfield to insert himself into a situation in which he was not directly involved."
Lynch's conduct was not going to go unnoticed and, in the end, he'll be out of the lineup for Oakland's next game. That won't kill the debate about his punishment, though, as the NFL is never able to please everyone with this kind of disciplinary action.
