Week 16 was one that former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf will want to forget. He wasn't performing well, as was his way for much of the season, but it was a scenario that unfolded with a fan that will be long-remembered. The situation isn't going away.
During the second quarter, a Detroit Lions fan named Ryan Kennedy was holding a Pittsburgh Steelers No. 4 jersey (the wide receiver's jersey number with his new team) near the railing behind the Steelers bench. Kennedy was clearly saying something that got the player's attention, and Metcalf walked to Kennedy and appeared to throw a punch or slap the fan.
The NFL suspended Metcalf for the final two games of the regular season, though one might wonder if that was truly enough disciplinary action. The wide receiver also appears to have had a run-in with Kennedy in 2024 when Metcalf was still with the Seahawks, but the exact details are murky.
Former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf sued over 2025 incident with a fan
While commenting about the situation on Shannon Sharpe's Nightcap podcast, former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson said that the fan had made a racially-insenstive remark. There is no audio or visual evidence to support the claim, so how Johnson has his information is unknown. Maybe it was claimed by Metcalf.
This all leads to a recent lawsuit filed by Kennedy's attorney in Wayne County (Michigan) Circuit Court seeking $100 million in damages. The suit names Metcalf, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ford Field Management LLC, Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson, Shay Shay Media LLC, and All Time Sports LLC as defendants.
People can look at this in several different ways, of course, though one way is clear. We will get to that in just a minute.
One way, though, is that Kennedy has unfairly been pigeonholed publicly as a racist when he might not be. Metcalf, Johnson, and others, normally in the public eye, would be able to control that narrative, for better or worse.
Another way is that Kennedy really did say something no person should say to another, and is now taking advantage of the situation for financial gain. That may or may not be true, though. We might never know.
Ultimately, no matter what Ryan Kennedy said or didn't say to DK Metcalf should have caused the former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver to walk over to a fan during a game and get into a physical altercation. Metcalf has had issues controlling his emotions on the field before, and he needed to take the high road in Week 16 against the Detroit Lions, too.