The NFL was expected to hand down disciplinary action against Brian Branch for slapping Kansas City Chiefs‘ JuJu Smith-Schuster on the helmet, and that’s exactly what happened. Branch received a one-game suspension without pay for the Lions’ home matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 20. However, under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, he retained the right to appeal—which he did—and now, just in time, the decision on that appeal has been announced.

“Lions safety Brian Branch’s one-game suspension was upheld upon appeal,” reported back Adam Schefter, taking to his X account. It was NFL senior vice president of football and international communications Michael Signora, who originally announced the update on Wednesday. And, it was hearing officer Jordy Nelson who had upheld the suspension. Nelson, the longtime Packers receiver, was jointly appointed by the NFL and the players’ association on the matter. 

Branch was initially served with a notice by Jon Runyan, who is the NFL VP of football. As per Tom Pelissero, the notice said, “Your aggressive, non-football act was entirely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players. Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game.” The words were just as severe as what had unfolded on the field:

The on-field drama unfolded late in the fourth quarter, with just over three minutes left. Video footage showed Smith-Schuster coming in from the sideline and hitting Branch from behind on a first-down run—a hard, forceful contact that left the Detroit Lions safety briefly off balance. No penalty was called on the play, but Branch later admitted he “could’ve gotten hurt,” and the incident clearly fueled his frustration.

So, after Patrick Mahomes took the final kneel-down following their 30-17 win, Branch bypassed the quarterback’s outstretched hand and went straight for Smith-Schuster, slapping him on the helmet and sending the veteran wideout to the ground. Pandemonium broke out. Smith-Schuster quickly regained his footing and got up to retaliate at Branch. Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco intervened to hold the safety back.

 Players from both teams rushed in, punches were thrown, and the situation escalated further. Another Lions player, identity unclear, was knocked down after striking Pacheco in the face.

Officials eventually managed to regain control of the chaos. But, Smith-Schuster had to leave the field holding a towel covering his bleeding nose. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid later shared that the wideout suffered “pretty good damage” in the fracas. The fact that Branch has already been fined three times, so far in this season, adds more severity to everything happening. 

The first fine of the season came in Week 1 itself; he received two fines, one for unsportsmanlike conduct and another for unnecessary roughness, in that particular game against the Packers, each of $11,593. The third fine for him came when the Lions were in action against the Ravens. He was fined $11,598 due to a low block.

All in all, Brian has that rough image in the NFL. In just three years of his NFL career, he has been fined 13 times, of which seven came last year. However, the NFL seems firm on its decision, and Branch is set to make his return right on time. He’ll be eligible to come back to the active roster on Oct. 21, which lands during Detroit’s bye week. That means he could be ready and fresh when the Lions host their NFC North rival, the Minnesota Vikings, on Nov 2.

Moreover, the Lions’ safety, has owned up to his mistake.

Brian Branch acknowledges his fault

After the whole post-game fiasco, the Lions’ safety came out apologizing for his actions. While addressing the media, Branch said, “I did a little childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it. They be trying to bully me out there and….I shouldn’t have did it. It was childish.”

Even in the apology, Branch made sure to address that his action was a reaction to what JuJu Smith-Schuster did during the play.

He continued, “I got blocked in the back illegally. It was in front of the ref, the ref didn’t do anything. Stuff like that. I could’ve gotten hurt off that. But I still shouldn’t have done that.”

However, he also made sure that he’s not justifying his actions a bit. “There was a lot of stuff, but I should have showed it between the whistles, not after the game,” Branch said. “I apologize for that.”

On the other hand, JuJu looked very calm while talking to the media. “I know he’s a better player than that, a better person,” Smith-Schuster said about Branch. “He’ll learn from his mistakes.” The incident led to Smith having a bleeding nose.

Additionally, the 28-year-old speculated that the reaction might have come from what happened on the field earlier in the game. He explained that it was his job to block Branch on the field. But was that block fair? The referee bias is a real question that’s going through every Football fan’s head right now. And now, Branch faces the repercussions, while Schuster gets ready for the Raiders.