“Owner cut his balls off“: NFL exec. pushes back on Michael Bidwill's response to Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon apologizing for hitting Emari Demercado

A ton of mixed reactions have surfaced surrounding Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon and his altercation with running back Emari Demercado.

For context, Demercado broke off for what would have been a 72-yard touchdown run against the Tennessee Titans. However, he dropped the ball before crossing the goalline, which resulted in a fumble, negating the score. The Titans wound up winning the game 22-21, earning the first victory of their season.

Soon after, cameras caught Gannon ripping into Demercado on the sideline, apparently shoving him at one point.

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The footage was met with mixed reactions from fans and media members on social media. Gannon initially downplayed the incident, but later expressed regret for his actions in a statement to the press after apologizing to Demercado and the team.

"I woke up this morning and didn't feel great about it, honestly ... I just told them I kind of let the moment of what happened get the better of me there," he said. "Obviously I try to be emotionally stable and calm, because my job is to solve problems during a game and try to lead the charge on that. It's not really who I am and who I want to be."

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill handed Gannon a $100,000 fine for his actions, and it appears the NFL is taking no further action after the incident. Per the New York Times, many NFL personnel across the league offered their thoughts on the situation anonymously.

One "rival executive" had a very blunt and harsh comment on the situation.

“The owner cut his balls off in front of his entire team.”

One NFC head coach came to Gannon's aid, saying the following.

“It was a meltdown. He’s a first-time head coach, felt helpless. I don’t think they needed to fine him. You deal with that internally,” one NFC head coach said.

Not everyone was supportive of Gannon. One AFC assistant called Gannon's actions "garbage."

“You can’t push a player like that. That’s garbage,” one AFC assistant said.

Arizona Cardinals struggling in NFC West race

NFL: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers - Source: Imagn

The Cardinals have struggled to start off the 2025 NFL season. They currently hold a record of 2-3 and are dead last in the NFC West division rankings. Arizona is also the only team in its division with a losing record. The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams both have a record of 3-2, while the San Francisco 49ers sit atop the division with a record of 4-1.

Arizona is hoping to regroup this weekend as they take on the Indianapolis Colts tomorrow, who currently lead the AFC South race, and have been hot under the leadership of new starting quarterback Daniel Jones.

Edited by Jon-Anthony Fuentes