Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch sparked controversy moments after Sunday night’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when he struck receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the face. The blow came after the final whistle and triggered a brief on-field scuffle between both teams before players and coaches stepped in to separate them.

Branch later shared his perspective in the Lions’ locker room following the incident.

“I did something childish, but I’m tired of guys doing things between plays and the refs letting it go. They were trying to push me around out there,” Branch admitted. “I shouldn’t have done that. It was immature.”

The defensive back explained that his frustration boiled over after he felt Smith-Schuster blocked him illegally late in the game without a penalty being called. The Chiefs, who won 30–17, were not flagged once.

“I got blocked in the back illegally,” Branch said. “It happened right in front of the ref and he ignored it. That kind of thing could have injured me. Still, I can’t react like that.

“I need to handle it between the whistles, not after the game, and I’m sorry for what I did.”

Smith-Schuster later responded, saying, “After the game, I thought we’d shake hands, say ‘Good game,’ and move on to Mahomes. But he threw a punch. … I was just blocking him, doing my job. I play clean, and he crossed the line after the game.”

Branch is expected to receive league discipline for igniting the altercation. His coach, Dan Campbell, also expressed disappointment, calling the behavior “unacceptable” in his postgame comments.

“It’s not who we are,” Campbell stated. “That’s not our standard. I apologized to Coach [Andy] Reid, the Chiefs, and JuJu Smith-Schuster. That’s not acceptable, and he knows it. He won’t be let off easy.”