Carolina Panthers safety Sam Franklin Jr. had to be restrained by a staffer after trying to break into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers locker room to fight an opponent.
In dramatic scenes captured on video after the Panthers lost in overtime to the Bucs on Sunday, Franklin Jr. refused. to go straight to the home team’s dressing room, but to focus on the visitors.
In several clips, one of which was posted by WFMY reporter Logan CampbellHe can be heard saying: “Tell 33 I’ll see his a**,” before appearing to add: “On my grave, boy.” He is then towed away.
By ’33’ he appears to be referring to Tampa Bay outside linebacker Jose Ramirez, although the exact reason for his anger is unclear.
The Panthers were 3-8 heading into Sunday’s NFC South division matchup and left the field with another heartbreaking loss, the last in overtime on a brutal fumble by Chuba Hubbard.
In the next-score victory scenario, impressive young running back Hubbard had the ball in his grasp, but linebacker Anthony Nelson managed to knock him out before YaYa Diaby got the ball back for an overtime win.
Sam Franklin Jr. of Carolina Panthers was furious after the loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday
An employee had to hold Franklin down before dragging him to the home locker room
It appears Franklin was looking for Bucs outside linebacker Jose Ramirez (photo)
The Bucs then went to the other end to score a 30-yard field goal to win the game and silence Bank of America Stadium, much to the dismay of the Panthers fans – and apparently their players as well.
In another clip, the Bucs’ Sterling Shepard was also seen looking for someone in the stadium tunnel as emotions threatened to boil over during a frenzied football weekend in America.
The violence began Saturday with college football’s Rivalry Week, with several teams battling each other in a series of postgame brawls.
The most notable of these occurred at Ohio State, where university police pepper-sprayed Michigan players at midfield after they attempted to plant a flag in the Buckeyes logo following a shocking win.
In Florida, Gators and FSU players also canceled after their games, while on Sunday, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans players also had to be split mid-game.