Getty Cleveland police were reportedly seen in the Browns locker room after the Myles Garrett brawl.
Cleveland Police were spotted in the Browns locker room after the shocking Myles Garrett brawl, according to an ESPN reporter. However, a spokesperson for Cleveland police told Heavy police are not investigating Garrett.
Asked whether Cleveland police were looking into or investigating the Garrett matter at all, Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia, the public information officer, told Heavy succinctly: “No.”
Asked if it’s true Cleveland police officers were in the locker room, she told Heavy: “It’s not an investigation. Officers work secondary employment at the stadium.” She said she had no further information.
The police angle came about through a tweet.
“Cleveland Police just walked out of the #Browns locker room. That’s a first for me,” wrote Matt Fontana on Twitter on the evening of November 14, 2019. He’s a producer and host with ESPN Cleveland. He also wrote: “Expecting #Browns locker room to be very empty. Media still waiting to enter and a ton of players walking out already.”
The spotting is potentially significant because it came on the heels of Garrett, a defensive end for the Browns, pulling off the Steelers QB’s helmet and then swinging it at him. It happened with eight seconds left in the game between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. You can watch the brawl and helmet incident here and later in this article.
It’s not clear, though, why Cleveland police were in the locker room or whether it had anything to do with the Garrett situation. Cleveland police were silent on the matter on their social media accounts. Heavy has reached out to Cleveland police PR for more information, and this story will be updated if it is received.
Maurkice Pouncey, Garrett, and Larry Ogunjobi were ejected from the game, according to Fox 8 Cleveland. In the locker room, Garrett said, according to Fox 8: “I made a mistake. I lost my cool and I regret it.”
Pouncey, who tried to defend Rudolph by tackling Garrett, said later to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “That ain’t part of football. You could’ve killed him. What if he hit him in the temple? Let’s be serious.”
Here’s what you need to know:
People Immediately Reacted on Social Media to the Police Angle
Fontana also wrote: “Myles said it was dumb and he regrets it. ‘It’s on me.’ Said he expects consequences #Browns.” It’s not yet clear how severe those consequences will be.
People filled up the comment thread on the tweet with the police angle. Here are some of the comments:
Some were serious. “What he did in my home state, Oregon, would be a felony assault.”
“Criminal charges???”
“They have charged hockey players for similar actions. It might happen.”
“If he didn’t leave in handcuffs then there is no story.”
“If this ends up being a criminal matter, Miles had every right to protect himself. It was Rudolph who came at Miles. And for this reason the law rarely applies to sports.”
“They said on local news that Cleveland police went into the Browns locker room after the game. I’d love to see Garrett get charged with aggravated assault.”
Some made attempts at humor. “Eyewitness statements to Mason Rudolph committing fraud for impersonating a NFL Quarterback???”
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com wrote on Twitter: “The story of tonight’s game won’t be the #Browns
win or the #Steelers loss. It will be the suspensions likely coming. What a mess.”
Even the Browns QB was critical of Garrett. Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield told CBS Sports: “Rivalry or not we can’t do that. We’re endangering the other team. It’s inexcusable. The reality is he’s going to get suspended.”
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