Black Friday shopping shenanigans seem to have settled down in recent years. You don't hear about overzealous shoppers fighting each other over massive markdowns anymore. But Black Friday in 2023 still included some scuffles on the football field.
The NFL's first-ever Black Friday game featured the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins in a game that went about as you'd expect: New York's defense fought valiantly, but the offense couldn't do much of anything and Miami ran away with it.
There was another increasingly familiar element to the outing: Micheal Clemons getting into a fight. A week after he was at the center of a scuffle with Bills lineman Dion Dawkins, Clemons was again the center of attention when he accidentally struck a ref in the face.
Watch: Micheal Clemons ejected for hitting ref in the face
Clemons may not have intended to hit the ref, but he got him good right in the mouth. Making contact with a ref is always going to result in an ejection.
Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson was also ejected for his role in the skirmish. So Clemons wasn't alone. However, it is concerning that he's been losing his cool this regularly.
During the game against the Bills, he got into it with Dawkins. Then after the game he pursued the Buffalo lineman in the tunnel and another scuffle ensued.
A lot of that probably has to do with how frustrating the Jets season has been. It's got to be hard to be a defender trying to make plays knowing that the defense can play its best game and still lose because their offense is incapable of putting points on the board.
That doesn't excuse the regular pushing-and-shoving matches. And it certainly doesn't excuse taking yourself out of the game by recklessly hitting a ref.
Clemons left the game with two tackles, a half sack and a quarterback hit.
