Erik Walden put his hand on a referee during Colts-Bengals. It wasn’t particularly violent, but the ref decided he’d seen enough from Walden and ejected him with a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct:
Erik Walden ejected from Colts-Bengals for contact with official
The Colts’ starting linebacker shoved at a referee, ending his day against the Bengals.
(Yes, we giggled a bit at the ref’s struggles to throw the flag.)
Colts coach Chuck Pagano said in a halftime interview he thought Walden was trying to separate himself from the Bengals player he was jawing with -- that’s Jermaine Gresham, the guy who immediately starts jumping up and down with glee after the shove, but it does look like the contact was intended for the referee. It didn’t appear to be particularly violent or aggressive contact, but then again, you’re not really supposed to shove refs ever.
The resulting first down was Cincinnati’s first of the day -- really -- but they couldn’t score on the ensuing drive as the Bengals went into the hal scoreless.
Walden, a seventh-year player out of MIddle Tennessee State, is the team’s starter at one outside linebacker spot. He’s fifth on the Colts in tackles and tied for the team lead in sacks.
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