This past weekend the USFL wrapped up their second week of their inaugural season. Rounding out the week was the New Orleans Breakers and Tampa Bay Bandits duking it out in the Breaker Bay Brawl.
There was some good trash talk throughout the weekend, but nothing could top what Antonio Reed did on the field. On their way to a 34-3 loss, Bandits defensive back Antonio Reed pushed one of his opponents down and instead of moving on with the game, decided to sit on that particular player’s head.
Some have said that it looked very familiar to a technic that became popular in online matches of Halo to humiliate your opponent.
Many fans did not like what transpired Sunday, and it seems that the USFL wasn’t too keen on it either. Just now, the league released a video with Mike Pereira to address the situation.
Head of Officiating Mike Pereira addresses the act of excessive taunting that occurred in Week 2. pic.twitter.com/yOpUH9Hw63
— USFL (@USFL) April 27, 2022
Pereira starts the video talking about the extra access, angles and audio from the games. Specifically mentioning that they told the players to have fun out there. But, in regards to Antonio Reed, Pereira says he went too far.
That’s totally disrespectful to his opponent and the game. And we want you to know that Antonio has been suspended for this upcoming weekends game.
He also announced that Reed has been suspended for week 3. He says that they spoke with the officials and wanted them to let the games play out, but going forward Pereira is looking for his group to call these taunting fouls.
This is not too dissimilar to the announcement from Daryl Johnston last week in regards to the chip in the ball. This shows that the USFL leadership is watching the action on and off the field, and want their product to be enjoyable by all.
From what we’ve read online, most were not happy with Reed after this act. Although news of his suspension is fresh, we expect many will stand behind the leagues decision.
At the end of the day, the USFL wants to showcase a quality game, but there is a line that can’t be crossed.
What do you think of the leagues decision to suspend Antonio Reed? Let us know down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.
