In a Week 13 matchup against the Buffalo Bills in 2017, former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was having an exceptional afternoon. Gronk recorded nine receptions for 147 yards as the Patriots were on the verge of securing their eighth consecutive and tenth overall win of the season.
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Late in the fourth quarter, however, the tight end confronted former Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White after he intercepted a pass from Tom Brady, an incident that ultimately resulted in White entering concussion protocol. Years later, Gronkowski acknowledged his mistake, apologized to White, and revealed that he was frustrated with the refs for not flagging White rather than being angry at the cornerback himself.
“I never have, but in high school I used to, and I learned my lesson,” said Gronkowski when asked whether he ever got into a fight with a ref. “It never worked in my favor. I was always the one getting more punished than what the referee was getting punished for. So I learned my lesson young. But in the NFL, there was one instance where I really wish I attacked- not truly attacked the referee, but went after the referee verbally instead of attacking Tre’Davious White. I was very frustrated.
“Defenders were draping all over me throughout that season. And then for that instance right there, that play, Tre’Davious White held me three times. There was no flag on the play. He caught the interception. And I was so frustrated with the referees because there was no flag call that I elbow-dropped Tre’Davious White. So it wasn’t Tre’Davious White’s fault. I just took my frustration out on him. So I’m sorry, Tre’Davious White. I should have elbow-dropped the referee.”
The incident happened in the fourth quarter with less than five minutes remaining. On third-and-seven, Brady threw toward Gronkowski. However, White intercepted the pass, fell to the ground, and ended up partly out of bounds.
After the play, Gronk approached White from several yards away and dived onto him rather than stopping when the play ended. Subsequently, he drove his forearm into the back of White’s head as the CB hit the ground. White remained on the ground for several minutes before being helped up and escorted to the locker room for concussion evaluation.
The Bills later announced that White had entered the NFL’s concussion protocol, while Rob Gronkowski was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness. At the same time, the league suspended the veteran tight end without pay for the following week.
In his defense, however, Gronk acknowledged that he was frustrated at the refs for not flagging White for pass interference.
“At the top of the route, it felt like it was a big hole at the top, and then the throw was definitely, I mean, I felt like he kind of pushed me a little bit and made the play. I just don’t understand why there wasn’t a flag,” said Gronkowski, while also adding, “…It was a couple times in the game, and they’re calling me for the craziest stuff ever. And it’s crazy, like, what am I supposed to do? And then they don’t call that [on White]. It was just frustration, and that’s what happened.”
Former Bills safety Micah Hyde, however, took a dig at Rob Gronkowski and called out the officials for not ejecting the tight end from the game.
“That’s a dirty play, man,” Hyde said of the hit. “That’s not cool. It’s amazing to me that you don’t get ejected for something like that. It’s crazy. He obviously saw him on the ground. It’s like a wrestling move. I don’t know — elbow, shoulder — I don’t know what it was. I saw on the replay it was just a dirty play, man. That’s something the NFL talks about all the time about not wanting. If the refs didn’t see it live, they had a good chance to see it on the replay. Just a dirty play.
“Just touch him. Put your foot on him. Tackle him. You don’t need to drive your shoulder or elbow into him. That wasn’t cool. Obviously, the game was already — it was a pretty big margin at that time. There was just no need for that in the game we play.”
Ultimately, the Patriots won 23-3, and went on to make the Super Bowl before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles. However, Gronkowski has now apologized to Tre’Davious White for hitting him while he was frustrated with the officials.