New England Fight Club
Nancy Lane | MediaNews Group | Boston Herald
Another week of practices commences, and like clockwork we had two more brawls break out at Patriots summer training camp on two consecutive days. But at least this time it wasn’t between two New England teammates.
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Aug. 16, center David Andrews and defensive lineman Christian Barmore were seen getting into it as tensions were flaring during a frustrating summer camp practice. Words were exchanged and eventually a scuffle broke out, but both teammates didn’t see it as anything more than a heat-of-the-moment act of competitiveness.
Image via Patriots.com
This past Tuesday, however, a much less friendly brawl broke out at Patriots camp. This time though with a visiting team for a joint practice—the Carolina Panthers. Practice saw Patriots wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson catching a pass and getting hit by a Panthers defenseman, leading to a scrum. Multiple players were seen throwing punches, and kicked out of practice after New England’s “fight and you’re out” rule was enforced. Among the players removed from practice were Patriots receivers Kristian Wilkerson and Kendrick Bourne.
Could this be a result of the Patriots preseason loss to the New York Giants the week before? This is definitely a possibility, among frustrations within the offense and uncertainties in the new offensive scheme post-Josh McDaniels.
Image via @sganley on Twitter
Just when we thought tensions were calmed, the next day seemed to be round two for the teams. Yet another bench clearing brawl broke out during Aug. 17’s joint practice, this time in front of New England fans.
Wilkerson’s name was attached to this one as well, but for another reason. This time, a hit from a Panthers defenseman left Wilkerson down on the turf, hurt. Panthers cornerback Kenny Robinson was seen standing over Wilkerson, almost taunting him as the receiver was in pain. On the very next play, star Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey was hit hard by Patriots defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr., and a skirmish broke out. This escalated quickly into another full brawl with punches being thrown, and players ejected.
To make matters even worse, a fan was even injured. A woman walked away with a swollen foot after the brawl, and was quickly apologized to by McCaffrey and Wise Jr. This was the final straw for head coach Bill Belichick and Panthers coach Matt Rhule, who was quick to condemn the over-aggressiveness from his team. Many like to see a level of fire and competitiveness in their team, but when things get as far as they did in New England in two consecutive days even leaving a fan injured, this could leave a bad mark for the NFL, which always encourages a family-friendly atmosphere. A rivalry is quickly brewing between Carolina and New England.
