Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was involved in a confrontation during Sunday’s game against the Commanders that saw Washington DT Daron Payne get ejected from the contest and subsequently suspended.
In the incident that led to Payne’s ejection, the Commanders defender could be seen throwing a punch at St. Brown after a Detroit touchdown. However, footage emerged in which, a few plays prior, St. Brown and Payne could be seen jawing at one another. Things escalated a bit, and St. Brown could be seen hitting Payne in the head area, but he wasn’t flagged.
On the latest episode of his podcast, St. Brown shared his side of what went down on Sunday in an attempt to clear the air.
Amon-Ra St Brown on the altercation between him & Daron Payne:
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) November 12, 2025
“Payne comes out and bumps me, I’m like what the f**k? So I hit him and he starts talking s**t. Then I hit him again, I accidentally hit him in the face…”
(via:@StBrownPodcast) pic.twitter.com/9e0irRfC09
St. Brown explained that tensions had boiled over a couple of plays prior to Payne’s ejection. St. Brown said Payne bumped into him and began “talking s---” after the whistle. In retaliation, he hit the Commanders defender, though he acknowledged that he wasn’t intending to hit him in the head. St. Brown said he was anticipating a penalty, especially considering the ref was standing right next to him and Payne, but no flag was thrown.
That incident, which went unflagged, appears to have set the stage for the ensuing altercation, which resulted in Payne’s ejection.
The Commanders DT was suspended one game, and although he appealed that ruling, the decision was upheld by the NFL. As such, he’ll be unavailable for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.
Clearly, there was more to the story that initially met the eye, and St. Brown attempted to provide some clarity by sharing his side of the story on his podcast.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Amon-Ra St. Brown Shares His Side of Viral Altercation With Commanders' Daron Payne.
