Seattle, did you catch that wild 49ers game on Sunday? Because while our Hawks battled it out with San Fran, something absolutely bonkers happened that the field refs didn’t even initiate. 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw got himself ejected from the game, not by the guys in stripes, but by a direct order from the NFL’s main office up in New York City! Yeah, you read that right. Even with that, we still fell short, losing to the Niners 32-29.
The “Non-Football Act” That Sent Greenlaw Packing
This wasn’t some regular flag. NFL V.P. of instant replay Mark Butterworth spilled the tea in a pool report after the game, explaining that the call came from 345 Park Avenue itself. Apparently, the clubs passed a new rule this year. The Art McNally Gameday Central in New York can now straight up eject a player, even if there’s no flag on the field for the action. But get this, there *was* a flag down in this case. Butterworth said that when Greenlaw went to the sideline, the dude actually “head-butted a non-helmeted player.” Seriously? A “non-football act” is what they called it. NFL executive V.P. of football operations Troy Vincent then let them know Greenlaw was out, and Butterworth relayed the message to the field: number 57 was gone. It’s a crazy development for how games are officiated, especially when it happens during a heated divisional matchup.
What’s Next for the Niners’ Linebacker?
So, the biggest question now is whether Greenlaw’s head-butting antics will earn him a suspension. The league is gonna review the whole mess on Monday and make a decision. You gotta wonder what that kind of decision-making process looks like in the league office. To have a play reviewed and ejected from New York, mid-game, is just wild. For our Hawks, it was a brutal loss regardless of the sideline drama. We fought hard, but a 32-29 final score against a division rival always stings.
It’s one thing to get beat, it’s another to see your opponent lose a player to a bizarre league-mandated ejection and still come up short. Keep an eye out for that suspension news tomorrow, folks. This kind of off-field-official drama changes the game in a way we’ve never seen before.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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