Rams’ Wagner, McVay Address Police Inquiry Into Incident with Fan

Veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner made headlines Monday night after tackling a protestor who ran onto the field during L.A.’s road game against the 49ers.

Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner responded to a report Wednesday regarding a fan who filed a police report after the 11-year veteran tackled him on the field during Monday Night Football.

Wagner made headlines for laying a booming hit on the fan, who ran onto the field with a pink smoke bomb, during the game against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. On Wednesday, reports emerged that the fan, who was later identified as an animal rights activist, filed a police report regarding the incident. 

Santa Clara Police Department Lt. Cuong Phan confirmed to Sports Illustrated that the protestor filed a report on Tuesday afternoon and that an investigation is ongoing.

During a media session after Wednesday’s practice, Wagner fielded a question about the complaint and indicated the matter doesn’t concern him greatly.

“I heard about it, but it is what it is,” Wagner said, per the Associated Press. “It’s behind me. I ain’t really focused on it. I’m more concerned about the security guard that was hurt trying to chase him. We don’t know what that (pink smoke) is. You’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do.”

When Rams coach Sean McVay was asked for his thoughts about the situation, he voiced resounding support for Wagner.

“I think we all know where Bobbyʼs intentions were, and I support Bobby Wagner,” McVay said, per the AP. “Thatʼs where Iʼm at with that. I donʼt think anybody would disagree.”

Although Monday’s incident was not shown live on ESPN, replays of the scene made the rounds on social media soon afterward. The brief interruption occurred just before halftime and ended when Wagner, with some help from teammate Takk McKinley, corralled the rogue protestor after security struggled to detain him.  

Wagner’s Wednesday comments echoed the thoughts he shared in the aftermath of the game while recounting the event to reporters.

“I just saw somebody running on the field, and he looked like he wasn’t supposed to be on the field. So, I saw security was having a little problem, so I helped ’em out,“ Wagner said.

Wagner corrected a reporter who referred to the hit as a “play” and stressed he was concerned with the situation as a safety issue while letting out a little frustration caused by the disruption.

“You don’t know what that fan got or what they’re doing,” Wagner said. “You see it all the time, and we don’t know what they’re carrying in their pockets, whatever that little smoke stuff is. But that [stuff] can be dangerous. … Security looked like it was struggling. So I was frustrated, so I took it out on the fan.”

Wagner has not been charged with a crime as of this publication.

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