A situation in which Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was slapped by a fan after Arizona beat the Raiders on Sunday is under investigation by Las Vegas police.
An LVPD spokesman told The Associated Press on Monday that a battery complaint was filed after the Cardinals’ stunning 29-23 victory. According to the spokesman, the complaint was made because “a spectator in the stadium hit a professional football player”.
The apparent slap, which took place immediately after the game, was actually caught on video by Cameron Cox of 12 News in Arizona.
After Byron Murphy returned the punt 59 yards for the game-winning touchdown in overtime, Murray went straight into celebration mode, and soon into that celebration was when the fan appeared to slap him in the face. In the video below, you can see exactly what happens. At about the 25-second mark, Murray runs to celebrate with fans in the end zone, and as he gives a few high-fives, a fan in a gray shirt appears to punch him in the face.
While it’s possible that the fan was just trying to hit Murray on the shoulders and missed, the slow motion of the video shows that Murray definitely thinks the slap came with bad intent.
After the slap, Murray actually went towards the fan, but was pulled away by some of his teammates before the situation escalated further. Murray eventually left the field and went to the locker room to continue his celebration of the Cardinals’ wild win.
A big reason the Cardinals were able to make the comeback is because of Murray, who not only scored two touchdowns in the second half, but also made one of the wildest two-point conversions in NFL history.
After throwing for just 53 yards through the first two quarters of the game, Murray went 25 of 40 for 224 yards and a touchdown in the second half, while also adding 28 yards and a touchdown on the ground to help the Cardinals to victory.
