Buffalo Bills safety CJ Gardner-Johnson has been suspended for one game without pay for spitting at Las Vegas Raiders players on Sunday.
Gardner-Johnson was ejected late in the second quarter for unsportsmanlike conduct after an exchange with a group of Raiders players, including Brock Bowers.
In issuing the suspension, the NFL cited its rule that applies to “any act that is contrary to generally understood principles of sportsmanship.”
With Buffalo (5-1) entering their bye week, Gardiner-Johnson’s suspension will begin Oct. 26 and run through Nov. 2, the day after the Bills host the Baltimore Ravens.
The player has the right to appeal the suspension.
Gardner-Johnson apologized to his teammates shortly after Buffalo’s 33-30 win and posted a note on social media apologizing to fans.
“I owe my teammates an apology and to be a man about it,” Gardner-Johnson said after the game.
“You have to understand that as an adult you can’t do (things) like that in a game,” he added. “As a vet, I’ll be better. I’ll take my consequences for what they are, handle it like a man and move on.”
The 28-year-old won a Super Bowl with the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles and is on his sixth team in eight seasons, and signed a one-year contract with Buffalo in March.
Coach Joe Brady referred to Gardner-Johnson’s spitting act as “inexcusable” and said he discussed the matter privately with the player.
“That can’t happen. That’s not what we’re about. That’s not what the game of football is about and he knows that,” Brady said.
Gardner-Johnson arrived in Buffalo with an established reputation as a known trash talker and someone who has sometimes crossed the line with illegal hits.
“I don’t need a list of everybody who is the same person,” Brady said.
“Obviously, he crossed the line yesterday and that can’t happen. It won’t happen again. Personality-wise, I’m not afraid to have people who will try to cross the line in whatever they do.”