Rob Gronkowski suspended 1 game for late hit on Bills’ Tre’Davious White

The NFL decided to suspend New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski one game for a late hit on Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White in Week 13, the league announced Monday.

This is Gronkowski’s first-ever suspension in the NFL, and he plans to appeal it, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. On Tuesday afternoon, the league denied his appeal. He’ll be out Monday night against the Dolphins.

What happened? Late in the fourth quarter with a 23-3 lead, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw an interaction to White, who was covering Gronkowski on the play. White fell to the turf and out of bounds after the interception.

A few seconds later, Gronkowski dropped an elbow on White. Then, the officials slapped Gronkowski with a unnecessary roughness penalty. Unfortunately for White, he suffered a concussion on that play.

Dean Blandino, the league’s former vice president for officiating, said Gronkowski should have been ejected from the game and didn’t rule out the possibility of a suspension. After the game, Bills head coach Sean McDermott voiced his opinion about the gruesome hit.

Gronkowski spoke with the media after the game and didn’t hesitate to apologize to White.

“Just wanna apologize to Tre’Davious White. I don’t really believe in type of shots like that,” Gronkowski said after the game.

“I mean, I feel like he was trying to push me a little bit and made the play,” Gronkowski continued. “I just don’t understand why there wasn’t a flag. A couple times in the game. They are calling me for the craziest, craziest stuff ever and it’s just like, crazy. I mean, like what am I supposed to do? And then they don’t call that, I mean. It was just frustration and that’s what happened,” Gronk said.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick apologized to McDermott and called Gronkowski’s hit “bullshit.” But even though Gronkowski apologized, the league still felt it had to punish him for his actions. Now, the 28-year-old tight end will have to serve his one-game suspension.

Why does this matter? Aside from the unnecessary hit, Gronkowski seriously injured White, who is having a strong rookie campaign for the Bills. Head injuries are very serious in the NFL, and this concussion could cause White to miss games. Gronkowski has to control his emotions on the field.

As for the Patriots, they all miss their star tight end on the field. Gronkowski leads New England in catches (55) and receiving touchdowns (seven). He’s also collected 849 receiving yards this season, which is the second-highest on the team.