Martavis Bryant to see reduced playing time for 'unacceptable gesture' vs. N.C. State

Clemson wide receiver Martavis Bryant will see reduced playing time Saturday vs. Wake Forest for a gesture he made after scoring a touchdown in a Sept. 19 win over N.C. State. (Tyler Smith/Getty Images)

Clemson wide receiver Martavis Bryant will see reduced playing time on Saturday in the third-ranked Tigers' home game vs. Wake Forest because head coach Dabo Swinney said Tuesday that the junior made an "unacceptable gesture" during a Sept. 19 win at North Carolina State.

According to OrangeAndWhite.com, Swinney didn't see the gesture during the game but said he caught it afterwards when it was replayed on television. As footage below shows, Bryant made repeated slash-to-the-throat gestures after one of his two touchdowns on the day. Swinney said his playing time will in fact be reduced vs. the Demon Deacons but wouldn't elaborate on how long he plans to enforce the disciplinary action:

"Martavis will play this weekend, but it will affect his playing time. He made an unacceptable gesture after scoring a touchdown, and nobody even knew about it until after the game. It's one of those things that's not representative of what we want, so there will be some team discipline involved."

Swinney went on to say that he wished that the refs had thrown a flag on the play, but that, moving forward, he doesn't expect this kind of behavior out of Bryant:

"He's still growing up, and this is one of situations. It was just unacceptable behavior, and he knew it. I wish I had seen it, and I wish the refs had called a flag. There's no better punishment than immediate punishment. That's not the way we do things, and I don't think he'll do it again.

The game vs. the Wolfpack resulted in more serious disciplinary action against the Tigers' sophomore offensive tackle Isaiah Battle, who was ejected from the game for punching an N.C. State player and was subsequently suspended for the matchup on Saturday vs. Wake Forest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNmEZ1UrJ0I

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