Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf has been suspended two games without pay by the NFL for “having a physical altercation with a fan” during Sunday’s game at the Detroit Lions, the league announced Monday.
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported that Metcalf plans to appeal the suspension, which is currently slated to keep him out of Pittsburgh’s Week 17 game against the Cleveland Browns and the season-ending Week 18 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
“Metcalf’s actions violate the league’s policy, which states that ‘players may not enter the stands or otherwise face fans on game day and … if a player makes unnecessary physical contact with a fan in any way that constitutes unsportsmanlike conduct or creates a crowd control problem and/or risk of injury, he will be held accountable,'” the statement said.
Video showed Metcalf approaching a male fan wearing a blue wig in the front row at Ford Field, grabbing him by the shirt and then swiping him up. It was unclear if Metcalf hit the fan.
Pelissero reported earlier Monday that Metcalf and the fan, identified by The Detroit Free Press as Ryan Kennedy, have a history. Per Pelissero, Metcalf reported the same fan to the Seahawks safety last season when he played for Seattle (the Seahawks played the Lions in Week 4 of the 2024 season and also played Detroit in 2022 and 2023).
A source close to Metcalf told Pelissero that Kennedy on Sunday called Metcalf’s mother a derogatory term and called Metcalf “something we both know you don’t call a black man.”
Kennedy released a statement through a lawyer on Monday that “at no time before, during or after the incident did Mr. Kennedy use racial slurs or hate speech of any kind.”
“Ryan Kennedy categorically denies using the ‘N-word’, ‘C-word’ or any other racist, misogynistic or hate-based language during the incident that occurred on December 21, 2025 at Ford Field during the Pittsburgh Steelers-Detroit Lions game,” the statement via ESPN said. “These allegations are completely false.”
Kennedy told the Free Press on Sunday that Metcalf was upset about using his full name.
The incident occurred during the Steelers’ 29-24 victory, but since Metcalf was not flagged for the incident, which occurred off the field, he was not ejected.
Metcalf finished the game with four receptions for 42 yards and has 59 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns in his first year with the Steelers. Metcalf was acquired in a trade this offseason from the Seattle Seahawks.
Since being drafted by Seattle in the second round in 2019, Metcalf has a history of taking unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike penalties. Metcalf has been fined twice this year. In Week 13, he was fined $14,491 for an obscene gesture, and in Week 8 he was fined $12,172 for “hitting/kicking/kneeing” after he poked his finger into Green Bay Packers quarterback Quay Walker’s facemask with his left hand and then grabbed Walker’s facemask with his right.