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The ball boy takes his job very seriously.
During the Jaguars’ dominant 35-6 victory over the Patriots on Sunday, Jacksonville two-way star Travis Hunter recorded his first NFL interception.
To celebrate the milestone, Jaguars teammate 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 staffer is seen yelling in a clip posted to social media after Hines-Allen attempted to grab the ball.
The staffer attempted to stiff-arm 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 reaction that may have escalated the situation.
Hines-Allen did not comment on the incident after the game, though Hunter was still buzzing about his first career interception.
It was unclear whether 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 arrived in Jacksonville as a heavily hyped No. 2 overall draft pick, a wide receiver who would mix in and play cornerback on defense.
That hasn’t been the case. 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.
