There has been a lot of mixed reactions surrounding Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon and his altercation with running back Emari Demercado.
For context, Demercado snapped for what would have been a 72-yard touchdown against the Tennessee Titans. However, he dropped the ball before crossing the goal line, which led to confusion and the result being invalidated. The Titans ended up winning the game 22-21, earning their first win of the season.
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Shortly after, cameras caught Gannon ripping Dimercado down the sideline, apparently shoving him at one point.
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The footage was met with mixed reactions from fans and media outlets on social media. Gannon initially downplayed the incident, but later expressed remorse for his actions in a statement to the press after apologizing to Demercado and the team.
“I woke up this morning and I didn’t feel good about it, honestly, I just told them I was letting the moment that happened get me better out there,” he said. “Obviously I’m trying to be emotionally stable and calm, because my job is to solve problems during the game and try to lead the attack on that. It doesn’t really matter who I am and who I want to be.”
Arizona Cardinals Owner Michael Bidwell fined Gannon $100,000 for his actions, and the NFL appears to have taken no further action following the incident. Per The New York Times, multiple NFL employees across the league offered their thoughts on the situation anonymously.
One “rival executive” had a very blunt and harsh comment on the situation.
“The owner cut his balls in front of his entire team.”
An NFC coach came to Gannon’s aid, saying the following.
“It was a meltdown. He’s a first-time head coach, and he felt helpless. I don’t think they need to fine him. You deal with that internally,” one NFC coach said.
Not everyone was supportive of Gannon. An AFC assistant described Gannon’s actions as “rubbish”.
An AFC assistant said: “You can’t put pressure on a player like that. This is nonsense.”
The Arizona Cardinals are struggling in the NFC West race
The Cardinals have struggled to start the 2025 NFL season. They currently hold a 2-3 record and are in last place in the NFC West division standings. Arizona is also the only team in its division with a losing record. The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams both have a 3-2 record, while the San Francisco 49ers sit atop the division with a 4-1 record.
Arizona hopes to regroup this weekend as it takes on the Indianapolis Colts tomorrow, who currently sit atop the AFC South and have been hot under new quarterback Daniel Jones.
Edited by John Anthony Fuentes
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