Dre Greenlaw spoke out about Sunday’s incident against the Philadelphia Eagles that resulted in an ejection.
“It’s a fine line,” Greenlaw told media on Thursday, including NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. “I got to be better in those situations. I don’t want to hurt the team, don’t want to cause flags and stuff like that. Just got to be smarter and avoid it. I’m not too gone when I’m playing. I definitely understand, like, ‘All right.’”
The 49ers linebacker was ejected during Sunday’s eventual, 42-19, victory over the Eagles when he had an altercation with the opposing team’s Director of Security Dom DiSandro. This was after he tackled wide receiver DeVonta Smith out of bounds that resulted in a 15-yard penalty.
49ers LB Dre Greenlaw has been ejected after an incident with an Eagles security staffer. pic.twitter.com/LS0W4DpXCg
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) December 3, 2023
“When I was throwing him, I kind of felt myself trying to ease up because he was kind of light,” Greenlaw said. “So I was just trying to get him down. That’s the best way I know to try to get him down.
“I tried to ease up a little bit, but was I surprised (the flag) was thrown? Probably not.”
“I love it when I see a player that’s just playing full of emotion and is ready to go out there and smack everything,” he said. “That’s going to turn me up, too. I don’t think it’s being dirty.”
After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan said he had a huge issue with what an Eagles staffer did during the scuffle.
Disandro also was ejected after the altercation in which he received an ovation from the Philly crowd.
“I just can’t believe someone not involved in a football game can taunt our players like that, and put their hands in our guy’s face,” Shanahan explained.