The Green Bay Packers suspended Jair Alexander for one game Wednesday because of an errant coin toss last week.Alexander will miss Green Bay’s game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. “The decision to suspend a player is never easy and we don’t take it lightly,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in a news release Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, Zaire’s actions leading up to the Carolina game have led us to take this action.” He said. “As an organization, we expect everyone to put the team first. Although disappointing, I had a great conversation with Jair this morning and I look forward to learning from him as we move forward together. We look forward to seeing him again next week and he will continue to be a valuable member of this team.
The incident happened last Sunday during the Packers’ 33-30 win over the Carolina Panthers. Alexander, who was not the designated leader of the game, still participated in the middle toss and correctly called the tail, but did not say “late” when asked by umpire Alex Kemp. “I said, ‘I wish our defense was there,’ and everybody looked at me like I was crazy,” Alexander said. “What I’m saying is very simple. I want the defense to be there.
“You mean acting?” says And I think, “Sure.”Had Kemp not reaffirmed Alexander’s intent, the Panthers would have missed the start of the first and second half.”It was a big mistake,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Alexander’s decision. “It’s something we always discuss with the guys before we go out: ‘Hey, we won the toss, we’re going to hold on.’ “I went to the officials before the game and made sure they knew what we were going to do. That happened earlier in the year, so we’ve always tried to be proactive in that approach.
” Before choosing a weekly captain instead of appointing a season captain, there were three match captains and Alexander was not one of them. Neither LaFleur nor Alexander said they were asked or given permission to participate in the drawing.”I don’t think coach knew I was from Charlotte,” Alexander said. “I had friends who supported me. They knew I was from here.
“Alexander was a two-time Pro Bowler but struggled this season with a shoulder injury. He has 26 tackles, four passes defensed and a forced fumble in six games this season (all starts).The Packers (7-8) are still in wild-card contention. Sunday’s game against Minnesota (7-8) is a must-win. The 10th seed in the NFC is the Packers and the 8th seed is the Vikings.
