Bobby Wagner was not having it from a fan who ran onto the field during the Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers game on Monday night. The fan, who was wearing a pink shirt while holding a device that was letting out pink smoke, ran across the field and was heading towards the Rams sideline in the second quarter. Security was chasing him down, but Wagner came towards the person and laid him out with a big hit. Rams teammate Takkarist McKinley was also there to slow the fan down before security detained him and got him off the field.ย
After the game, Wagner explained why he tackled the fan. “That’s not making a play,” Wagner said, per ESPN. “That’s just keeping it safe. You don’t know what that fan got or what they’re doing. You see it all the time, and we don’t know what they’re carrying in their pockets. It’s whatever that little smoke stuff is, but that s could be dangerous. “One of the guys on the other side, it looked like he got hurt, and security looked like he was struggling, so I was frustrated, so I took it out on him.”
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Direct Action Everywhere appeared to take responsibility for the incident as the activist group retweeted videos from the ordeal, according to Fox News. One person wrote that the fan was attempting to bring awareness to the Smithfield trial which gan earlier Monday. The fan was identified as Alex Taylor and was wearing a RightToRescure.com shirt. Fox News says there was another protester named Allison Fluty, and the two were cited.ย
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan shared his thoughts on Wagner tackling the fan. “I saw Bobby Wagner take somebody out,” he said. “That was kind of cool to see.” The Wagner tackle was one of the few good highlights the Rams had on Monday night since they lost to the 49ers 24-9. Along with bringing down the fan, Wagner recorded 10 tackles in the loss and now has 33 on the year. The veteran linebacker joined the Rams this season after spending 10 years with the Seattle Seahawks. In his career, Wagner was been named to the Pro Bowl eight times, the All-Pro team eight times and helped the Seahawks win the Super Bowl during the 2013 season.ย
