The ball boy takes his job very seriously.
During the Jaguars’ dominant 35-6 victory over the Patriots on Sunday, Jacksonville’s two-way star Travis Hunter recorded his first-ever interception.
To celebrate the momentous occasion, teammate defensive lineman Josh Hines-Allen wanted to be sure he retrieved the ball for him after Hunter twirled it to the ground during his celebration.
That proved to be a struggle.
An NFL equipment staffer picked up the ball and refused to hand it over to the Jacksonville pass rusher in an ugly scene that included yelling and pushing between the two parties.
“You can’t touch me! Hey! He pushed me!” the NFL equipment staffer is seen yelling in a clip posted to social media after Hines-Allen attempted to grab the ball.
The staffer rejected Hines-Allen while he tried to grab the football, before the pass rusher asked for it and was turned down again.
The equipment staffer likely didn’t know the ball had significance for Hunter and staffers are not required to give any ball to a player, though that is the norm.
Players often claim balls that signify milestones and usually don’t face significant pushback from equipment managers.
The physical contact between the two may result in a fine for Hines-Allen, despite the equipment manager’s visceral reaction that may have escalated the situation.
Hines-Allen did not comment on the incident postgame, though Hunter was still buzzing about his first career interception.
It is unclear if Hunter ultimately received the ball.
“It felt great, but I was on to the next play,” Hunter said. “That happened in the second quarter, so I had to finish the game.”
Hunter initially came to Jacksonville as a wide receiver, with the hope that he would mix in and play defense sparingly.
That hasn’t been the case, as Hunter is now a full-time defensive player who gets only a handful of offensive snaps per game because the Jaguars have accumulated so many playmakers at wide receiver.
