OAKLAND – Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch was ejected from Thursday night's 31-30 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs for making contact with an official.
He was on the sideline to start a 3rd-down-and-16 in the second quarter, when a draw was called. Quarterback Derek Carr was stopped quickly, yet Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters delivered a late hit the Raiders offensive line didn't appreciate.
The front five was bearing down on Peters when Lynch ran on to the field to enter the fray. You can't do that.
It appears on video that Lynch tried to get between Raiders teammates and Peters, Lynch's close friend and fellow Oakland native. The goal, it seemed, was to get Peters out of harm's way. He made contact with an official during the incident in doing so, and seemed to push him before realizing the man was wearing stripes. You can't do that, either. Not without repercussions.
Lynch was ejected by rule and forced to leave the field immediately. Lynch will be fined $30,387 for making contact with an official and will possibly face a suspension. He spent the rest of the game in a family section of the stands, and was seen in the locker room congratulating teammates after a big win.
The 31-year old didn't explain his reason for going on the field, but others made his intentions clear.
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"They can say what they want but one thing's for certain: Family do come first," Peters told Bay Area News Group reporter Logan Murdock.
Lynch and Peters are extremely close. The run the Family First foundation with fellow Oakland football star Josh Johnson, which performs charitable work throughout Oakland and the East Bay. Lynch is the older brother in that relationship, and he seemed to instinctively try and protect his own.
It may have been a bigger deal had the Raiders lost, or DeAndre Washington not muscled into the end zone from four yards out in the third quarter. Raiders players didn't seem upset by Lynch's immediate action, though the didn't appreciate a lead running back getting ejected in a crucial game.
"Marshawn wasn't doing anything; he was just trying to protect his cousin, get his cousin to the sideline," said Raiders left tackle Donald Penn, one of Lynch's best friends on the team. "They're real close, they're more like brothers than cousins, they're real close. He's going to learn. Marshawn's smart, he's going to learn from that moving forward."
Lynch and Peters were seen together on BART after the game, reportedly filming a music video for Lynch's BeastMode Productions.
