The National Football League has placed game official Roy Ellison on administrative leave following an incident which took place during and after Sunday’s Buffalo Bills game against the Miami Dolphins. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Hughes will not be suspended for the incident.
Following the game, Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes went past the team’s locker room to confront Ellison as he was entering the officials’ changing area, yelling that Ellison had called him a “bitch” during the course of the game. Hughes said other things that may be considered threats directed at the longtime official.
While normally game officials are well protected by the NFL, Ellison represents an outlier. He’s one of a few officials that have been suspended in the past. In 2013, Ellison was suspended one game for allegedly calling Washington Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams “a garbage a** disrespectful motherf****r.”
Video of the incident circulated immediately following the confrontation, but Hughes claimed later in the day he didn’t remember the argument at all. Warning: the language in the first video is NSFW.
Here's the conversation with Jerry Hughes afterwards about confrontation.
— Jon Scott (@JonScottTV) December 2, 2018
When asked specifically about it Hughes repeatedly says "I'd love to see the video." #Bills pic.twitter.com/2IdNoKzy2W
Bills head coach Sean McDermott said on Monday that any punishment from you would be in the hands of the league office.