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Lindsey ThiryESPN
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Moments after the Los Angeles Rams secured a 17-9 win over the New York Giants on Sunday, Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Giants wide receiver Golden Tate made eye contact, then engaged in a fight near the 50-yard line.
Punches were thrown, though it was unclear who threw the first one. Both players went down on the turf, as teammates, coaches and staff broke up the fight.
In addition to the on-field scuffle, Ramsey was waiting outside the Giants locker room for Tate after they’d left the field, a source tells ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. There was not, however, a second confrontation, the source said.
When asked about the incident after the game, Rams coach Sean McVay said he was unsure what happened. “I was shaking hands and kind of got in the middle,” McVay said. “Fortunately, got it broken up and nothing occurred from there.”
Giants coach Joe Judge also said he was uncertain about the details. “Obviously, want to do our fighting between the whistles for 60 minutes,” Judge said. “I don’t know all the details, so I’m going to reserve comment until I find out everything.”
After the postgame field was cleared, Ramsey emerged still in uniform from the bowels of SoFi Stadium with Jacques McClendon, the Rams director of player engagement, and walked the field for over 20 minutes, engaging at times on his cell phone, before he exited through a tunnel that leads to the Rams’ locker room.
Neither Ramsey nor Tate were among players made available to reporters via Zoom after the game.
Giants center Nick Gates was in the middle of the scuffle as players attempted to pull Ramsey and Tate apart. “Just trying to protect my teammate,” Gates said.
Several Rams players said they didn’t know what caused the fight.
“I just saw a little scuffle and did my best to get people out of there,” Rams quarterback Jared Goff said.
Said Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald: “I wasn’t out there at the end of the game, I didn’t even see it, I was in the locker room, so I didn’t even see what happened.”
In the fourth quarter, Tate caught a short pass before Ramsey leveled him for a one-yard loss. Ramsey popped up immediately after the play as teammates swarmed in celebration.
Ramsey and Tate have had somewhat of a public feud regarding a family situation over the last year. Ramsey shares two young daughters with Tate’s younger sister, Breanna Tate.
Judge was asked Sunday if he talked with Tate before the game about playing Ramsey. “We talk to all of our players every week about different things. I’ll keep some of the conversations between our players just between me and the players. We don’t want to have happen at the end of the game to have happened. That’s not the way we want to be as a team. I don’t know all the details. I have to look into that more before I really have any comments to make of it.”
When pressed further whether he had a conversation with Tate, Judge said, “I’d like to keep those conversations between me and Golden. … I just have to keep certain things protected between me and the team.”
Earlier in the week, Ramsey was asked about potentially matching up against Tate. “No comment,” he said.