Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Myles Garrett is appealing the indefinite suspension he received from the NFL after he struck another player with a helmet, according to a source with direct knowledge of the appeal.
Garrett’s appeal will be heard Wednesday by two appeals officers, James Thrash and Derrick Brooks, who are jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association, the source said.
The NFL suspended Garrett following an on-field brawl last Thursday night that saw Garrett rip off Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph’s helmet and strike him on the head with it.
CNN has reached out to the NFL and the player’s union for comment. The latter declined to make a statement.
Garrett’s minimum suspension puts him out for six regular season games and any playoff games this year. The six games alone would make it one of the longest suspensions for on-field incidents in NFL history. He is asking for the penalty to be reduced.
Earlier this year, Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended for the rest of his season — amounting to 12 regular season games and the playoffs — following a helmet-to-helmet hit on a player on September 29. But the NFL made clear that his previous suspensions and violations of unnecessary roughness rules played a factor in the length of the punishment.
Otherwise, the longest suspension for an in-game violation was held by Albert Haynesworth, suspended five games in 2006 after the then-Tennessee Titan stomped on a player’s head.
Garrett showed remorse in a statement Friday, saying: “I made a terrible mistake.”
“I lost my cool and what I did was selfish and unacceptable,” Garrett’s statement reads. “I know that we are all responsible for our actions and I can only prove my true character through my actions moving forward.
“I want to apologize to Mason Rudolph, my teammates, our entire organization, our fans and to the NFL. I know I have to be accountable for what happened, learn from my mistake and I fully intend to do so.”
An online petition urging Garrett’s reinstatement has been signed by more than 60,000 people.
