A massive brawl broke out at a joint practice between the Washington Redskins and New York Jets, and video caught the chaotic moments that the fights on the field spilled over into the stands.
The incident took place on Sunday while the teams were practicing together. As USA Today noted, the fights were first sparked after Redskins running back Chris Thompson took a hit well out of bounds and right tackle Morgan Moses was hit late as well. This sparked a fight between some of the Redskins offensive players and Jets defensive back Trumaine Johnson.
The tensions only grew from there, the report noted, and moved from the field to the stands.
“Eventually, the fight was broken up, but another involving Moses began after the next play. Redskins coach Jay Gruden and Williams ushered Moses off the field, talking to him to calm him down,” the report noted. “A fight between Redskins fans and Jets fans broke out shortly after.”
After the practice, Williams said that he took a cheap shot and that his team “reacted how we reacted.” He said the fight was more intense because there were “no repercussions” during the joint practice, meaning there were no referees to call penalties or possibly eject players.
Johnson said the players moved on from the fight afterward.
“Just a friendly competition,” he said. “Just friendly competition. We’ll be back tomorrow.”
Hope Moses is doing okay after that unfair hit at today’s Redskins vs Jets scrimmage pic.twitter.com/XYbxbwAdGX
— Connie (@lenscap_photo) August 12, 2018
Ohhh boy. Here we go. Terrelle Pryor and Josh Norman start a little extra pushing. Then talking. No fists. But entire Redskins D got in on talking to Pryor as he walked back to the huddle #Jets
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) August 12, 2018
Training camp fights are not uncommon as the pressure of competing for a spot on the final roster is aggravated by hot weather and having to line up against the same players every day for more than a month. Other teams have gotten into scuffles during joint practices as well, which take place away from referees that can eject or suspend players.
But the fights in the stands were more unusual, as fans at training camp are generally more passive without the pressure of real regular season games and no alcohol sales to fuel tensions. It was not clear from the reports if any of the fans were ejected, or exactly what sparked their fights.
SERIOUS fight at Skins camp. Spills into the fans. Serious.
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) August 12, 2018
The brawl between the Jets and Redskins was caught on video by some of the reporters and fans in attendance, showing a chaotic scene that moved from the field onto the sidelines.
A fight broke out at a Redskins/ Jets training camp joint practice just minutes ago. The fight then spread into the stands as fans got in the scuffle as well pic.twitter.com/8w3FiwGhEk
— Belly Up Sports (@BellyUpSports) August 12, 2018
Jets and Redskins wanted smoke in practice today… they still have to play each other Thursday ? (via @LeeBarnes2000 , @MasterTes ) pic.twitter.com/fSAsvUKhWO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 12, 2018
The teams will have a chance to settle the score after the training camp brawl. The Redskins are hosting the Jets in a preseason game on Thursday night.
