Philadelphia Eagles defensive back CJ Gardner-Johnson flipped the double birds to Washington Commanders fans on his way back into the tunnel following an ejection. It is not entirely clear as to why he was thrown out of the game.
The 27-year-old’s actions as he walked off of the field actually appeared to be much worse than whatever it was that led to the pair of unsportsmanlike penalties in the first place. His wallet will be a little bit lighter when the NFL inevitably hits him with a fine for the middle fingers.
To be clear — Gardner-Johnson is known for his trash talk. This is not the first time that his behavior got him in trouble. There is a pre-established precedent there.
Whatever he said to Dyami Brown on Sunday must’ve been pretty nasty. Washington’s third-year wide receiver responded to Gardner-Johnson with an open-hand punch to the face that knocked the helmet off of his head. And yet, it was the latter who was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson is the only guy whose trash talk is so nasty he can get punched in the face and the ref STILL flags him and not the guy doing the punching pic.twitter.com/UBB2JoJQZg
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) December 22, 2024
Brown’s retaliatory jab did not get called for a penalty. It was not met with reprimand.
Only CJ Gardner-Johnson got in trouble!
He could not believe the flag was on him and not on his opponent. His teammates felt the same way. At the very least, it felt like the penalties on both players should offset. They didn’t.
CJ Gardner-Johnson picked up his second personal foul of the game about an hour later. The broadcast did not say what happened. Reporters on site in Arlington did not provide any additional information.
The NFL officials threw Gardner-Johnson out of the game for some trash talk. They hit him with a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty because he said some mean words.
Regardless of the actual reason for his ejection, CJ Gardner-Johnson was not pleased. He offered an unking gesture to the crowd at Northwest Stadium as he was escorted into the locker room.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson as he walks off the field after receiving his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, leading to his ejection. pic.twitter.com/1HfLQOpqZ9
— Chris Franklin (@cfranklinnews) December 22, 2024
It will be curious to see how the league chooses to address what happened. The double birds will not go over well with the NFL and Gardner-Johnson will be fined. But why was he thrown out in the first place?!