As Cardinals defensive tackle Alameda Ta’amu got off the ground after tangling with San Francisco offensive lineman Alex Boone on Sunday, Ta’amu decided to stick his foot in Boone’s facemask. Boone was not happy about it.
Boone was enraged on the sideline afterward, and the cameras caught two separate incidents in which 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick were trying to calm Boone down.
Boone screamed, “He kicked me in the f--king face” as he tried to explain why he was so angry.
Ta’amu may try to claim that he was just trying to get up and his foot made incidental contact with Boone’s facemask, but it looked intentional, and the NFL will have something to say about it. Of course, Boone is far from innocent: He appeared to be taking a swipe at Ta’amu before the kick, and he got a personal foul for a tangle with Cardinals defensive back Tyrann Mathieu later in the game.
And although Boone doesn’t like getting kicked in the face, he is on the record as saying he thinks punching someone in the face is totally fine.