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This one might make you a little upset, Washington Commanders fans. Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne posted a video to his Instagram stories on Tuesday, November 11, that showed Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown punched Payne in the face before Payne punched St. Brown — a move that resulted in a one-game suspension for Payne. While Payne’s Instagram account is set to private, the video spread quickly across the internet. “Oh ok,” Payne wrote on top of the video. “Here’s the video of Amon-Ra St. Brown swinging on Daron Payne a few plays before Payne swung back and got ejected,” NBC 4 Sports reporter JP Finlay posted on his official X account on Tuesday November 11. “This tells the other side of the story.” It wasn’t clear right away if the video would result in any punishment for St. Brown, who is one of the NFL’s elite wide receivers. Payne’s suspension appeal was rejected by the NFL and he will lose approximately $1 million for missing a Week 11 game against the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain. Social Media Reacts to St. Brown’s Punch While it does little to help the Commanders or Payne as he sits out a critical game after 5 consecutive losses and seeing his team’s record drop to 3-7 overall, it was a little bit of vindication. Fellow Commanders defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw said after the game that St. Brown threw the first punch, although there was no evidence to back it up at that point. “This is what Javon Kinlaw was referencing,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo wrote on his official X account. “Amon-Ra St. Brown striking Daron Payne before Payne came back shortly thereafter with the punch that got him suspended. An official there trying to separate. No flag.” Social media reacted in kind to Payne’s video revelation. What’s worse is it occurred directly in front of a referee, who did not eject St. Brown, which the rules indicate he should have. “Commanders DT Daron Payne just posted a video on his IG story showing that Lions WR Amon-Ra St.Brown did in fact throw a punch first and a ref was right there watching it,” Commanders reporter Josh Taylor wrote on his official X account. “Daron Payne posted a video appearing to back up his side of the story, with Amon-Ra St. Brown seen throwing the first punch,” Preme Football wrote on its official X account. “The NFL had already suspended Payne for one game following his ejection for striking St. Brown, and his appeal was denied earlier this week. Now that this new video has surfaced, fans are asking a fair question, should the league also take action against Amon-Ra?” St. Brown One of NFL’s Most Popular Players St. Brown not getting flagged for punching another player in the face smacks of favoritism shown toward one of the NFL’s best and most popular players.
