TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has been suspended without pay for one game after Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints, the National Football League announced.
The suspension comes after Evans violated "unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules," the agency explains. Evans was ejected from the Sunday game after a confrontation with New Orleans cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan issued the suspension for Evans reportedly violating a rule prohibiting, "unnecessarily running, diving into, cutting, or throwing the body against or on a player who is out of the play or should not have reasonably anticipated such contact by an opponent, before or after the ball is dead."
He also allegedly violated another rule which prohibits any act that is "contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship."
In a letter to Evans, Runyan wrote:
"After a play had ended, you were walking toward your sidelines. When you noticed your teammates engaged in a confrontation with Saints' players, you ran toward that area on the field and violently threw your body into and struck an unsuspecting opponent who was part of that confrontation.
You knocked your opponent to the ground and a melee ensued involving players from both teams. Your aggressive conduct could have caused serious injury to your opponent and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional."
The wide receiver will be able to return back to the field on Monday, Sept. 26 following the team's game against the Green Bay Packers.
It's not known yet if Evans plans on appealing the suspension.
"Any appeal will be heard and decided by either Derrick Brooks or James Thrash, the hearing officers jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and NFLPA to decide appeals of on-field player discipline," the NFL wrote.
