Santana Moss, Unaware of Ejection, Tried to Take Field Against Giants in Second Half

WASHINGTON (CBSDC) – Santana Moss expounded upon the events preceding his first-half ejection from Sunday’s loss to the Giants, in a radio interview on Tuesday.

Moss was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, and tossed from the game, after arguing with referees for ruling Robert Griffin III had momentarily lost possession of the ball as he dove across the end zone, causing the Redskins to miss out on a touchdown as time expired in the first half.

Washington would head into halftime with a 10-7 lead, as opposed to a 17-7 lead (presuming the PAT attempt would have been a success).

In the moment, Moss was furious; he would lose control of his emotions, and scream in the face of referee Jeff Triplette. He would also slap away the hand of another official trying to restrain him. The latter action would necessitate Moss to be ejected from the game.

Immediately after the fact, Moss was unaware he had even been disqualified from competing in the remainder of the game, he told 106.7 The Fan’s Chad Dukes.
“Now, remember we’re on the radio, so try to keep it like PG-13. Can you take us through what you said to the refs?” Dukes asked.

“I can’t do that, because we’re on the radio,” Moss joked.

“Maybe like a brief summary?” Dukes pressed. “What was the essence of what you said: You guys are doing a great job, I just need some clarity?“

“That was a freaking good job,” Moss jokingly recalled. “Nah, man, it was all kind of f-bombs. I was in the moment. I really was. And like I said, I just felt like we had a chance to do some big things. You go up big in someone’s home, you can’t worry about records when it comes to our division games. Giants are a good team, regardless of what their record is. And any other team that we play in our division is gonna be like that. So when you’re up big in their home, and they gave you all they had this first half, and we were able to stand still and knock back with them, it was a dagger.”

“I went into the locker room not even knowing I was kicked out,” Moss added. “And I’m walking back out, and [Leonard] Hankerson said, ‘Hey, you know you’ve been tossed out?’ I was like, ‘Did they tell you that?’ I was hoping he was lying. But in the back of my head I was like, ‘What I did can’t get me tossed.'”

There’s reason to believe Moss in this instance, in that he could have been oblivious to having been thrown out. After the non-touchdown ruling, time had already expired, and the entire Redskins team was en route to the visiting locker room.

Still, the fact remains, the rule which negated Griffin’s touchdown halted a potentially pivotal momentum swing for the Redskins, a team which had lost its five previous games. The thirst for victory undoubtedly played a role in Moss’s outburst.

Some, like Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, have argued the rule is more disruptive than it is beneficial, and needs to be changed before it affects “a game of significance.”


(cbs.com)