Lions' Brian Branch Apologizes for Giving Packers Fans Middle Finger After Ejection

Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Green Bay Packers wide receiver Bo Melton during Sunday's 24-14 win. As he departed the field, he flipped off Packers fans at Lambeau Field, earning him a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

On Wednesday, he apologized for those actions:

Branch's ejection was controversial, to the point that Fox Sports analyst Tom Brady—who is not permitted to publicly criticize game officials given his minority ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders—spoke out against the decision.

"I don't love that call at all," he said during the broadcast. "I mean, obviously that's a penalty. But, to me, that has to be serious intent in a game like this."

The NFL told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk it would not be fining Brady for those remarks.

"The concern would be if Tom was egregiously critical of officiating or called into question the integrity of an official or the crew. That did not occur in this instance."

After the game, NFL senior vice president of officiating Perry Fewell told reporters that the decision to eject Branch didn't occur automatically on the field, but rather came in conjunction with the replay center's review of the hit.

"We reviewed all the angles, and we clearly felt that he had time and space to make a different choice, as the act was a flagrant foul," he said. "And he clearly had the opportunity to avoid the head and neck area."

Lions head coach Dan Campbell added that referees on the field only told him the decision to eject Branch "came from New York."

Melton said he didn't believe Branch purposefully targeted him in the helmet area.

"He was playing ball," he told reporters. "I'm all good, so it is what it is. He was playing ball, and he hit me when I was in the air. So it is what it is."

Fewell also noted after the game that Branch could be facing further discipline from the NFL's compliance department for his middle-finger gesture to Packers fans.