Bills’ Bobby Hart suspended for one game over unsportsmanlike conduct

Buffalo Bills will have to play Game 3 against the Miami Dolphins without veteran offensive lineman Bobby Hart. The player was given a one-game suspension following Monday’s 41-7 win over the visiting Tennessee Titans.

The NFL gave Hart a one-game suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct. The 28-year-old tried to throw a punch at an opposing player but missed. It instead landed on the Titans’ assistant coach.

“As both teams were heading to the tunnel, you walked directly across the field to seek out your opponent. You approached him near the end zone and a coach had to hold you back as others shook hands,” NFL VP of football operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to Hart.

“Once you and your opponent were in the end zone near the tunnel, you confronted him and immediately swung at him with a closed fist, striking the head of a Tennessee coach. Your aggressive conduct could have caused serious injury and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional.”

Shortly after the NFL released its statement, Hart appealed to the league, as per multiple sources. The player can appeal the suspension as it is allowed in the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Similarly, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans also appealed his penalty on Tuesday following Sunday’s scuffle with New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

A reserve OL for the Bills, Hart did not play in the first game of the season against the reigning champ Los Angeles Rams. Last November, he was signed from the Titans practice squad as a replacement for linemen Jon Feliciano and Spencer Brown.

Although Hart had been waived and placed on the reserve list in last December, he was re-activated and promoted to the main lineup on December 27. In April 2022, Hart inked a one-year contract with the Bills.