Green Bay Packers suspend Jaire Alexander for one game following coin toss gaffe
v Brian Gutekunst announced Wednesday.
Alexander was placed on the team’s reserve/suspended list after he promoted himself to team captain and participated in the pre-game coin toss before the team’s Week 16 game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
“The decision to suspend a player is never easy and not one we take lightly,” Gutekunst said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Jaire’s actions before the game in Carolina led us to take this step. As an organization, we have an expectation that everyone puts the team first. While we are disappointed, we had a good conversation with Jaire this morning and fully expect him to learn from this as we move forward together. We look forward to welcoming him back next week as he is a valued member of this team and will continue to be in the future.”
Alexander, who starts at cornerback, will miss the Packers’ game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. The Packers and Vikings are both 7-8, and the loser will likely be eliminated from the race for a wild card playoff berth.
Alexander, without head coach Matt LaFleur’s knowledge or permission, joined the Packers’ three designated captains – Aaron Jones, Quay Walker and Eric Wilson – as they walked out at midfield for the pre-game coin toss.
Alexander won the coin toss by calling tails. However, he didn’t understand the rules and told referee Alex Kemp the Packers wanted to be on defense instead of deferring the decision until the beginning of the third quarter. Kemp asked Alexander if he wanted to clarify by deferring, to which Alexander said yes, saving the Packers from potentially losing a possession.
“I said, ‘I want our defense to be out there,’ and they all looked at me like I was crazy,” Alexander told reporters Wednesday. “I’m like, I mean it’s pretty simple what I said, like I want the defense to be out there. They like, ‘You mean defer?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I guess.’”
LaFleur criticized Alexander for his actions.
“That was a big mistake,” LaFleur told reporters Wednesday. “That’s something that you review with the guys before they go out there every time about, ‘Hey, we win the toss, we’re going to defer.’ I went to the officials before the game, made sure they knew what we were going to do.”
The Packers will be without their best cover cornerback in a crucial game. Alexander won’t be on the field to shadow Vikings’ star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
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