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Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker has been labeled a "classless act" after he was ejected from Sunday night's game against the Detroit Lions for shoving a member of the medical staff who was trying to access an injured player on the field.
The incident happened midway through the fourth quarter of the NFC North matchup at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
Lions running back D'Andre Swift went down injured after a 2-yard run and medical staff rushed onto the field to assist.
First responders at the Buffalo Bills game against the Cincinnati Bengals last Monday night were praised for their quick response after Buffalo's Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field following a tackle.
They performed CPR on him for 10 minutes before Hamlin was taken to a hospital after suffering cardiac arrest.
With that in mind, when Swift went down, there was an immediate response from medical staff, with one member moving Walker out of the way to gain access to the player.
Walker then turned and pushed the staff member in the back, almost making him stumble into the injured player.
Several players stepped in to deescalate the situation after Packers defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt also appeared to barge into the back of the member from the medical team.
After flags were thrown, Walker was ejected from the game. It was the second time this season he was ejected from a game for shoving a member of the non-playing staff from the opposition.
The penalty kept the Lions' drive alive and they eventually scored a touchdown that sealed the victory and kept the Packers out of the playoffs.
Video of the shove was shared widely on social media and Walker was slammed for his actions.
One person on TikTok commented: "What a classless act! both should be suspended for a year with no pay!"
Others wrote that Wyatt should have faced disciplinary action as well as Walker, with one commenting: "Literally after last week they still doing this. I would've ejected both of them with suspension without pay."
That was backed up by another comment: "95 should have been kicked off the field all. With all that has happened this week. The hurt player comes first."
A fourth added: "No class. Unbelievable."
One person seemed to sum up the general view, writing: "It doesn't matter what team the medical team is on respect them at all cost."
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said during a postgame interview that there is no excuse for Walker's actions.
"That is unacceptable," he said. "I've got a much higher standard for our players than to do silly things like that. We've got a guy ejected twice. I don't think I've ever seen that in my career. We've got to be much more mentally tough.
"Any time our guys commit personal fouls, I take that very personally because I think that's always a reflection of myself and the standards we set for these players. And we've got to be better and we've got to learn from that because that is unacceptable."
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