Johnny Hekker pulled a Zinedine Zidane during Sunday’s game.
The Carolina Panthers punter was involved in an incident during the second half of his team’s Week 6 game against the Miami Dolphins.
After uncorking a 48-yard punt with just under ten minutes left in the fourth quarter, Hekker took exception to Dolphins linebacker Cameron Goode, who also plays on special teams. Goode gave Hekker a jostle after the whistle, and Hekker responded by shoving him back. After the two exchanged words, Hekker proceeded to headbutt Goode to the turf.
Check out the video.
Here is a closer angle of the headbutt.
That was a pretty nice sell job by Goode there. He might have a nomination for “Best Supporting Actor” incoming. But it ended up working as the refs assessed Hekker with an unnecessary roughness penalty for the headbutt (though it was ultimately offset by a defensive hold on the punt by Miami).
Hekker was most likely blowing off steam since the Panthers were trailing 35-14 at the time and ended up losing 42-21. But the form on Hekker’s headbutt was almost as good as one you might see from a quarterback.
More must-reads: