FOXBORO — Patriots broad receiver Kristian Wilkerson and Panthers security Kenny Robinson had been concerned in a scuffle Tuesday that resulted in each of them being ejected from observe.
Early in Wednesday’s second joint observe, issues acquired worse.
During a kickoff return drill, Robinson delivered successful that laid Wilkerson out on the sector, then stood over a immobile Wilkerson and taunted him. Several Patriots, together with captain Matthew Slater and particular groups coordinator Cam Achord ran over to confront Robinson, inflicting gamers from each groups to swarm. Eventually, the ensuing scrum dissipated, whereas Wilkerson obtained medical consideration on the sector.
“I’ve got a teammate down on the field who’s now being medically evaluated off site. That’s a cause for concern,” Slater mentioned after observe. “We’re not going to sit here and celebrate those types of plays. That’s not how you do it.”
Wilkerson was finally carted off, however not earlier than one other fracas broke out after the primary snap of an ensuing 11-on-11 interval.
As Panthers operating again Christian McCaffrey took a hand-off proper, Ja’Whaun Bentley lowered his shoulder close to the sideline, successful that sometimes signifies the top of a play throughout coaching camp. Instead, Patriots defensive lineman Deatrich Wise lowered the growth with an clearly late hit that knocked McCaffrey out of bounds. McCaffrey responded by throwing the ball at him, and one other brawl spilled previous the sideline.
One Panthers lineman planted Wise on his again and into the stands, the place his helmet landed on a girl’s foot. Pats security Jabrill Peppers later threw punches at one other Carolina offensive lineman.
According to a group spokesperson, the lady whom Wise landed on declined medical consideration, and the group provided her regular-season tickets to a recreation of her selecting.
Wise, Robinson and Panthers operating again Chuba Hubbard had been all ejected from observe.
Slater reiterated a number of instances he was upset with Robinson’s response reasonably than the hit itself.
“I don’t think we should ever celebrate when someone is down and clearly in a dire situation. I personally take issue with that — any one of my teammates,” Slater mentioned. “And I don’t want us doing it on the flip side of that if somebody else is down with clear signs and symptoms of a significant injury. So that was my issue with it, and that’s why I responded strongly the way I did.”
Said fellow captain Devin McCourty: “I just saw kind of the aftermath, and the rest was history. … It put practice a little bit on the edge.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com