The Green Bay Packers announced Wednesday that cornerback Jaire Alexander has been placed on the reserve/suspended list for one game, due to bad conduct.
Alexander had joined the coin toss ahead of the Packers’ game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, despite not being a team captain.
His actions almost cost the team who were trying to get to the playoffs.
In the Packers’ 33-30 road win against the Panthers, Alexander had crashed the coin toss when team captains were at midfield.
After the Packers won the toss, Alexander said Green Bay wanted to be on defense – which is not the same thing as opting to defer. The referee had to ask him what he meant. If not, Carolina would have received the football to start both halves.
After the game, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that what Alexander did was “a big mistake.”
“The decision to suspend a player is never easy and not one we take lightly,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in a statement when the suspension was announced.
“Unfortunately, Jaire’s actions prior to the game in Carolina led us to take this step. As an organization, we expect that everyone puts the team first,” added Gutekunst.
“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.”
