The Cleveland Browns were left shorthanded early in the Week 1 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs after safety Ronnie Harrison was handed an ejection.
His crime?
He shoved a Chiefs coach, even though the coach laid hands on him first.
The whole situation appeared to be blown out of proportion, at least from a Browns fan point of view, and it left the Cleveland secondary without a key player.
Fines have officially been handed out and Harrison was hit with a steep price.
The NFL fined #Browns safety Ronnie Harrison $12,128 for last week's shoving match with #Chiefs RBs coach Greg Lewis, who wasn't fined by the league but received a warning that any subsequent violations will result in discipline, according to team and league sources.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 18, 2021
Chiefs coach Greg Lewis was able to avoid any punishment other than a warning.
The Issue At Hand
The Browns are still likely angry because Harrison only shoved Lewis after the coach himself shoved the safety.
Coaches are not supposed to be touching players and that seems like an obvious thing to remember.
The Chiefs believed Harrison deliberately stepped on running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
In real time, it was clear this happened.
Yet upon a replay, Harrison was bumped from another angle as well, making the whole situation a mess.
The Browns were mad about Harrison being shoved and ejected, while the Chiefs felt it was the right move.
The end result is a fine and a reminder to a coach not to touch any opposing players.
Teammates To His Defense
The Browns have a special player in JC Tretter as he is the NFLPA President.
He is a voice for all players and he made it clear earlier this week that Lewis was in the wrong as well.
#Browns center and #NFLPA JC Tretter says Ronnie Harrison shouldn't have retaliated "but we can't have opposing coaches (#Chiefs assistant Greg Lewis) putting their hands on an opposing player.' No 'room for that in this league'
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) September 13, 2021
Yet the NFL gets to hand out punishments without much discussion and had a whole list of fines for Week 1 handed out Saturday.
The end result of this is nothing more than the Browns and Chiefs starting up a bit of a rivalry.
Kansas City eliminated the Browns in last year’s postseason in a game filled with plenty of controversy.
Meeting up to start the 2021 season provided a thrilling game between two teams expected to battle for AFC supremacy for years to come.
Harrison and a coach getting in a shoving match may only be the beginning of the drama between the two franchises over the next 5-10 years.
Should a player and coach get into such an altercation?
No, but it did provide an extra storyline and adds more fuel to the fire of this budding rivalry.
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