Rob Gronkowski Was Somehow Not Ejected For This Late Hit Against The Bills

Rob Gronkowski is a generally beloved character in the NFL. The Patriots’ tight end has built his personal brand off of being a goofy meathead who just loves to play football and have fun with his bros. On the field, Gronk is one of the league’s most physically imposing and dominant offensive players, but on Sunday, he pulled a stunt that led to widespread backlash against him.

Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White hauled in an interception late in the Pats win over the Bills while in coverage on Gronkowski. There was undoubtedly contact initiated by White prior to him intercepting the ball, with a grab and a push, and this had Gronkowski upset.

After White went down on the sideline, Gronk, upset at the contact from White, decided it was a good idea to take a cheap shot on the Bills’ rookie and dive at the back of his head while on the ground.
https://twitter.com/nfldraftupdate/status/937425609181093888

Here’s another angle of the hit.

There’s little room here for interpretation. White wasn’t just already down by contact, but was also clearly laying out of bounds so there’s no potential excuse for Gronk wanting to touch him down with extra force. He also clearly targets his head with his hit. Somehow, Gronkowski wasn’t ejected for what was a blatant cheap shot, which means the league will have a decision to make this week on what kind of penalty should be assessed.

He will, undoubtedly, be facing a fine of some kind, but since he wasn’t ejected the league could choose to suspend him. The Patriots would have been better off with an ejection and then a fine this week, considering the Buffalo game was already wrapped up when Gronk snapped, rather than have him miss an entire game.

After the game, Gronkowski apologized to White, saying he’s “not in the business” of taking shots like that, while also criticizing the officiating in the game.