Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy may find himself in hot water for something not directly related to Sunday’s 19-12 playoff loss at the San Francisco 49ers.
As shared by Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post, a picture taken shortly after Sunday’s game concluded appeared to show McCarthy pushing a camera away from him as he walked toward the locker room. However, Noah Bullard of NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth clarified via Twitter that McCarthy merely offered “more of a hand to the lens.” Bullard also said that McCarthy later apologized for his actions:
Bullard also exchanged text messages with Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports and said he met with McCarthy shortly after the non-shove and that the coach apologized. Bullard added that the “incident appears worse on still photos” and that he was no worse for wear.
A Cowboys team spokesperson declined further comment.
Some, such as Sean Keeley of Awful Announcing, compared McCarthy’s actions to Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams shoving a media member to the ground after a prime-time loss at the Kansas City Chiefs this past October. That victim claimed to experience “some concussion symptoms” as a result of the shove, and Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal pointed out that Adams was ultimately charged with a Kansas City ordinance assault violation. Adams was due to appear in court on Monday regarding the matter but instead had that court date pushed back to June 26.
David Fucillo of DraftKings noted in October that Adams eventually could face some discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy depending on how the legal process plays out. McCarthy likely doesn’t have to worry about that policy but nevertheless could receive some slap-on-the-wrist punishment if the NFL wishes to make it clear to all personnel that placing hands on any media members in a way that’s perceived aggressive is strictly prohibited.
