New York Giants coach Joe Judge believes it was Jalen Ramsey of the Los Angeles Rams who threw the first punch in the postgame melee Sunday that involved Golden Tate.
Tate defended himself as the two players went to the ground before players and coaches from both teams separated the two, who have a history with each other.
“First off, I don’t want [co-owners] John Mara, Steve Tisch or anybody involved in this team to have to deal with something like this after the game,” Judge said Monday. “This isn’t why we play the game. We have 60 minutes to beat the hell out of each other legally between the whistles. We don’t need anything extra after.
“I talked to a number of our players, and obviously we saw some video on [it] and guys that were involved, and I kind of had an eyewitness standpoint for myself after me and Sean [McVay, the Rams’ head coach] had an exchange at midfield. I turned around and it was kind of happening right there in front of me. So I got a quick glimpse of it right there.
“Look, all I have to say is the account I got from a number of our players — there is a history obviously between them, and there was a punch thrown. Golden was defending himself. I was told he wasn’t the one who threw the punch. And everybody involved was trying to break it up.
“I can say that both our players and the Rams’ staff and players, from what I saw with my own eyes, were there trying to break it up. I didn’t see anything going on in the pile. … Guys were trying to break it up.”
The league is reviewing the matter, but suspensions are not expected for either player, a source told ESPN. The Giants don’t plan to discipline Tate, barring any new information.
“There are a number of things we still have to look through as a team right here,” Judge said. “But based on the information I was given and what I saw with my own eyes and what our players gave me, it didn’t sound like there was an immediate need for [discipline for Tate]. But we’ll look into it if there is. Obviously we’ll always take care of our players.”