Luke Kuechly ejected for making contact with official
Carolina’s day went from bad to worst following the decision to eject middle linebacker Luke Kuechly.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly has been ejected in the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday for making contact with an official.
A scrum broke out on the ground following a near-fumble by Packers running back Eddie Lacy. Several Packers were pulling on Kuechly in the pile when a game official dove into the fray. He attempted to pull players apart, grabbing Kuechly by the shoulders from behind. The linebacker was unable to discern who was grabbing him, and pulled away. At this point he was flagged and ejected for making contact with an official.
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera attempted to sway the officials to change their decision, while both John Lynch in the announcer's booth and FOX analyst Mike Pereira believed the officials should have looked at the totality of the situation and realized Kuechly was not attempting to make contact with the official.
The day went from bad to worst for the Panthers after being down by 35 points and now losing their most important defensive player.
Here’s what former NFL Vice President of officiating Mike Pereira had to say about the ejection.
VIDEO: My thoughts on the Luke Kuechly ejection Via @kfc https://t.co/alIlBZP0yJ
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) October 19, 2014 Kuechly acknowledges that he didn’t know who put their hands on him, but accepted responsibility for not keeping his cool.
Kuechly on ejection: "I just felt somebody grab me - didn't know who it was. I just have to walk away. Can't let that happen."
— Max Henson (@PanthersMax) October 19, 2014 See More:
