Aqib Talib Appeals One-Game Suspension For Eye-Poking Incident

Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib got a little too frustrated during the final minutes against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday in their 27-24 loss in Indianapolis, snapping an undefeated record they had seven games before.

After a play was executed by the Colts offense late in the fourth quarter, it appeared that Talib had forcefully put his fingers through Colts tight end Dwayne Allen’s facemask and poked him in the eye. A penalty flag was then thrown and unnecessary roughness was called against the Broncos for the action. After the game, Talib had stated that the poke was unintentional but video evidence shows otherwise. Because of this, the league suspended Talib yesterday calling for a one-game suspension for the incident, which would find him missing next week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Today, Talib was reported to be appealing the suspension and that a decision could be made by Wednesday. “They’re entitled to discipline me. I think I deserve discipline,” Talib said Monday in the Broncos’ locker room. “I didn’t intentionally poke him in his eye, but as you could see, I did get his eye. It was unintentional. They’ve got the right to discipline me as they did.” If Talib were to be suspended, he would lose one game day check, valued at $323,529.41.

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak stated he had a long talk with Talib regarding the incident during the flight home and that it was a burden on the team but believed the incident itself was not intentional. “I had a long talk with him. He’s wrong. He needs to stay out of the situation,” Kubiak said Monday. “It hurt the team. He knows that. But by no means did he — I’m convinced — have intentions of poking anybody in the eye. That’s where we’re at.”

Photo: DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 01: Aqib Talib #21 of the Denver Broncos celebrates the Broncos’ safety in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 1, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)