Deebo Samuel would like to have this one back.
After stepping over a cameraman that he accidentally knocked down on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver apologized on Monday.
Samuel scored the first touchdown in Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a 13-yard run. As he crossed the front right corner of the end zone, he fell to the turf and barreled through a camera operator working the sideline. He got up, stepped over the fallen cameraman and joined his teammates to celebrate.
Samuel didn’t acknowledge the cameraman or offer him any help as he appeared to be in pain on the ground. The incident drew joking comparisons to Allen Iverson’s infamous step over Tyronn Lue during the 2001 NBA finals, a moment that can be mildly described as disrespectful.
Samuel, of course, wasn’t playing said cameraman in a high-stakes championship and almost certainly doesn’t know him, much less have any sort of beef with him. After he went back and watched the tape, he issued an apology on Twitter on Monday.
My apologies for stepping over the camera guy. Definitely didn’t realize I did it until watching the tape. Was just in the moment. My apologies my guy🤞🏾
— Deebo (@19problemz) December 12, 2022
The explanation adds up. Samuel was clearly hyped after the score and didn’t think twice about the guy he knocked over while caught up in the moment. Given time to look back, he feels bad about it.
Unfortunately for Samuel, Sunday’s step-over wasn’t the only bit of drama from his day. He left the field on a cart after sustaining a reported high-ankle sprain. The good news is that he reportedly avoided a significant long-term injury and damage to his knee. But the ankle injury is expected to sideline him for several weeks as San Francisco looks to secure the NFC West.
The 49ers are arguably the hottest team in football having secured six straight wins to improve to 9-4. They’ve won two straight with Brock Purdy playing quarterback and appear to maintain legitimate Super Bowl aspirations despite the loss of quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance to injury. Losing Samuel for any amount of time adds up to another significant blow.
