Packers suspend cornerback Jaire Alexander for gate-crashing coin toss
Cornerback Jaire Alexander of the Green Bay Packers was suspended for one game on Wednesday due to behaviour that was detrimental to the team after he made a coin-toss error last week that almost cost the team a possession.
Alexander will not play on Sunday when Green Bay takes on the Minnesota Vikings, who are the hosts.
“The decision to suspend a player is never easy and not one we take lightly. Unfortunately, Jaire’s actions prior to the game in Carolina led us to take this step,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in a statement on Wednesday. We expect everyone in our organisation to prioritise the needs of the team. While we are disappointed, we had a good conversation with Jaire this morning and fully expect him to learn from this as we move forward together. We look forward to welcoming him back next week as he is a valued member of this team and will continue to be in the future.”
The incident occurred at the outset of the Packers’ narrow 33-30 win over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday. Alexander, who was not a designated game captain, joined the coin toss at midfield anyway, correctly called tails but didn’t say “defer” when asked by referee Alex Kemp.
“I said, ‘I want our defense to be out there,’ and they all looked at me like I was crazy,” Alexander said afterward. “I’m like, I mean it’s pretty simple what I said, like I want the defense to be out there. They like, ‘You mean defer?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I guess.’”
Had Kemp not double-checked on Alexander’s intent, the Panthers would have received the first and second-half kick-offs.
“That was a big mistake,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Alexander’s call. “That’s something that you review with the guys before they go out there every time about, ‘Hey, we win the toss, we’re going to defer.’ I went to the officials before the game, made sure they knew what we were going to do. We had an incident earlier this year where we had a similar situation, so always trying to be proactive in that approach.”
The Packers, who choose captains week-to-week instead of designating season-long captains, had their three game captains out there and Alexander wasn’t one of them. Neither LaFleur nor Alexander said whether permission was asked or granted to be out there for the coin toss. “I don’t think Coach knew I was from Charlotte,” Alexander said. “It was, I mean, the guys backed me up. They knew I was from here.”
Alexander is a two-time Pro Bowler but he has been hampered by a shoulder injury this season. Six games (all starts) this season have yielded 26 tackles, four pass breakups, and one forced fumble for him.
Sunday’s game was the first time Alexander had been active since 5 Novemeber, when he sustained a shoulder injury against the Rams. Alexander had been practising but was made inactive on gamedays, leading to speculation that something beyond the injury was keeping him out of the Green Bay lineup.
The Packers (7-8) are still in contention for a wild-card berth. Sunday’s game at Minnesota (7-8) is a must-win.
When the former Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha delivered his New Year message back in 1967, he pulled the cord marked “truth bomb”. “This year will be harder than last year,” he declared. “It will, however, be easier than next year.” Enver, I appreciate that you did not sugarcoat the situation. On the other: way to kill the party buzz, you monster!
I do not wish to destroy the mood (or any dissidents, for that matter) by reminding you of the news year that you have just finished or by alerting you to the news year that is coming up. It’s not big, it’s not clever, and it’s sure as heck not seasonal.
But I will say, pointedly, that our reporting feels particularly necessary in dark times. In order to keep the Guardian accessible to everyone, if you can, kindly contribute $2 a month to its support. I can’t tell you how much it would be appreciated. A free press is needed now as much as it has ever been – and on some days, more than it has ever been.
As payment for your assistance, I formally* grant you the right to call yourself “a newspaper baron” in social situations, at the bar and on any business cards you choose to print. Face it: if you pay to support a news organisation, then you ARE to all intents and purposes a newspaper baron. Just enjoy it! All the others do.
With that, it simply remains is for me to wish you a very happy holidays, and a splendid new year. Goodness knows you’ve earned it.
