An incident involving Pittsburgh Steelers player DK Metcalf and a Detroit Lions fan quickly went viral on Sunday.
In a widely circulated video, Metcalf can be seen grabbing the fan, who is wearing a blue wig, by his collar and then shoving him back before returning to the field. According to Pro Football Talk, the incident is not the first time Metcalf and the fan, who revealed himself as Ryan Kennedy, have interacted.
Two sources confirmed that Metcalf had previously reported Kennedy to Seahawks security. Metcalf, then a member of the Seahawks, played in games when the team visited the Lions in 2022, 2023 and 2024. One source close to Metcalf says Kennedy referred to his mother as a derogatory term and went even further by using a racial slur.
“Something we both know you don’t call a Black man,” the source said.
Chad Johnson, of NFL and the “Nitecap” podcast fame, corroborated the story during a live episode on YouTube on Sunday.
“I got word—obviously, I’m not condoning putting your hands on a fan or punching a fan—but he did call him a racial slur,” Johnson said. “He called him the N-word and he did call his mom a c—t. I think, with those words being exchanged and the fan saying that, I think that’s where the action occurred.”
“That’s a bad combination [of words] … and it caused DK to react. I’m sure he will have to deal with some type of discipline. You know how the NFL is. No matter what’s said, they want you to be able to control yourself in that situation, but I understand.”
In a statement shared on Monday (Dec. 22), Kennedy denied using a slur against Metcalf.
“These allegations are completely false,” the statement released by Shawn Head and Sean Murphy of Head Murphy Law Firm reads. Kennedy told the Detroit Free Press he only called Metcalf by his full name, DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf, and it set him off.
“I called him that, and then he grabbed me and ripped my shirt,” Kennedy told the Free Press. “I’m a little shocked. Like everyone’s talking to me. I’m a little rattled, but I just want the Lions to win, baby.”
Kennedy was not removed from the game. Metcalf continued to play as the Steelers won versus the Lions but will be suspended for the team’s final two games without pay for his role in the confrontation, according to NFL Media.
The game was broadcasted on CBS and the incident was mentioned during the telecast.
“He came over because the fan in the stands was holding a ‘4’ Pittsburgh jersey, he went over, and the fan said something to him,” CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson said on-air. “Obviously, Metcalf did not like what he said, and you saw the swipe there. No Steelers came over to him and mentioned anything.”
