A disgruntled fan smacked Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray after the team’s huge comeback win in Las Vegas.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was struck by a fan in the aftermath of Week Two’s win in Las Vegas against the Raiders. After Byron Murphy scooped up the fumble forced by Cardinals linebacker Isaiah Simmons on Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, he returned it for the game-winning touchdown in overtime. A team-wide celebration then ensued, in which players mingled with some severely outnumbered Cardinals fans in the stands.
A complaint was reportedly made around 6:30 PM Pacific Time regarding the incident, stating that “a spectator at the stadium struck a professional football player.” Video from the celebration reveals the player to be Murray, who is also seen trying to identify the fan in the stands after the incident. Las Vegas police are investigating the incident in order to identity the fan who struck the Cardinals quarterback.
I suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised that something like this occurred. First off, football is an emotional game and those who lack discipline and self-control can be swept up in those emotions. Secondly, tensions around the country are still high as it relates to stresses from the pandemic and economic uncertainty. Incidents like these can certainly be a byproduct of such things. Violence is on the rise in general throughout the country.
But more to the point here is the constant badgering and the cruelty that Murray has been subjected to in his NFL career. Once again, it’s worth noting that a fine line exists between criticism and disrespect. Murray also happens to be the only starting quarterback in the league with Asian descent, which is surely not a coincidence, and the caricature of the star quarterback as a spoiled brat who doesn’t even care enough to do his football homework has been so transparently rooted in racial prejudice from the very beginning.
