Woman Injured As Patriots, Panthers Joint Practice Fight Spills Into Stands

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A late hit on Carolina Panthers star Christian McCaffrey by a New England Patriots player led to the two teams engaging in a massive fight during their joint practices for the second consecutive day and resulted in a female fan getting injured, ESPN reports.

McCaffrey -- who has missed the majority of the past two seasons due to multiple injuries -- was already out of bounds when he was knocked to the ground by Patriots defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr., on a non-contact play.

McCaffrey responded by spiking the football on Wise's foot, which resulted in the two teams getting physical and the fight leaking onto the bleachers, where Wise accidentally fell over a woman in the stands.

Wise and Panthers backup running back Chuba Hubbard were both ejected from the joint practice due to their involvement in the incident, with Carolina coach Matt Rhule confirming that Hubbard threw a punch.

Wise reached out to apologize to the woman, who experienced a swollen foot after the 6-foot-5, 275-pound lineman landed on her, but refused treatment from medical personnel, according to ESPN.

The Patriots offered to give the woman free tickets to a 2022 regular-season game. McCaffrey also shook the woman's hand after the incident took place.

"I've never been a part of a joint practice where there's not one of those," McCaffrey said. "It's not about how it's going to happen, it's when it's going to happen."

Several videos shared online showed punches being thrown by Patriots and Panthers players during a prior incident on Tuesday (August 16).

Panthers cornerback Kenny Robinson and Patriots receiver Kristian Wilkerson initially shared blows before fellow New England receiver Kendrick Bourne jumped in and threw several punches, with all three being ejected from their respective practices for their involvement.

Panthers defensive lineman Phil Hoskins and Patriots backup center James Ferentz were also involved in a later fighting incident that resulted in both players also being kicked out of practice and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick calling a timeout to huddle his team.

The Patriots are coming off a 23-21 loss to the New York Giants in their preseason opener last Friday (August 12), with former offensive coordinator and new Giants head coach Brian Daboll earning a victory against his former team.

The Panthers defeated the Washington Commanders, 23-21, last Saturday (August 13), with recently acquired quarterback Baker Mayfield throwing for 45 yards on 4 of 7 passing during the team's opening drive.


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