Awkward.
An interview with Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald didn’t go as planned when a reporter was abruptly cut off while asking about his helmet-swinging drama.
Last Thursday, Donald was seen in fan-captured videos swinging two Bengals helmets, appearing to use them as weapons in an all-out brawl that broke out during a joint practice in Cincinnati.
So, when Donald was pressed about the situation Thursday by Zach Gelb of CBS Radio, a P.R. person interjected and asked Gelb to keep his line of questioning to the recovery product Donald was promoting.
“Were you thinking maybe you were going to get suspended or anything?” Gelb asked.
“Hey Zach, we’re just gonna focus just here because Aaron’s here today to talk about [the product],” said the P.R. person. “So you do have two minutes left, if you want to pivot to your last question please.”
Prior to the “pivot” request, Gelb had asked Donald what happened during the joint practice that led to the helmet situation.
“It was just a practice,” Donald said. “Obviously, people got phones out and things like that. But I’m not gonna sit and talk about negative stuff that happened at a practice. My main focus is Buffalo.”
The Rams host the Bills in Week 1.
Aaron Donald seen holding a Bengals helmet in a brawl between Cincinnati and the Rams during a joint preseason practice in Cincinnati, on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. APSam Greene/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP
The Rams and Bengals’ joint practice ended in a brawl on August 25, 2022 in Cincinnati.@cincyhub/TwitterWhen asked if there was any internal punishment handed down by the Rams, Donald said, “We talked. We talked, so…”
A day after the brawl broke out, a Rams spokesperson said the team would handle any discipline internally.
Los Angeles coach Sean McVay said, to his knowledge, no one was injured in the scuffle.
“It’s like anything else,” McVay said about the fight. “You just move forward and this’ll be a little blip on the radar an hour from now for our guys.”
Donald’s role in the brawl between the Rams and Bengals was reminiscent of a similar situation involving the Browns’ Myles Garrett three years prior, when he was suspended six games after swinging Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph’s helmet during a game.
