Back in 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs started strong with five wins in a row. However, towards the end of the year, that momentum had slipped to 6-5. So when the Chiefs played the New York Jets in Week 13, coach Andy Reid was really hoping for a win to get back on track. But a controversial penalty from one of their players made things tough. Now, nearly a decade later, that player, who’s now a high school football coach, shared what actually happened.

“That day was a long and rough day,” former Chiefs CB Marcus Peters said while breaking down his infamous fine for throwing the referee’s flag into the stands. “Just pulling into the stadium. My teammate from college, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, was a tight end for the Jets at the time. He had just called me while we were pulling into the stadium and told me that we lost one of our college teammates… and I was just an emotional wreck that day… and it was just penalty after penalty in the red zone, and just, I lost it.”

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The situation got tense as penalties piled up in the close 31-30 game. Peters, feeling frustrated, picked up an official’s flag and threw it into the stands. He even walked off, thinking he was finished for the day. In the end, it resulted in yet another tough loss at Arrowhead Stadium.

“Listen, I would tell you these are young men; they’re searching,” Andy Reid said after the game. “They don’t want the losing streak like we’re on. They get where we sit; they understand that. We all have to collectively pick up our game, or it doesn’t change.”

Days later, the league stepped in. Peters faced a $24,000 fine, and the Chiefs decided to suspend him for the next game.

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“I got suspended the next week and lost a game check. I lost a hefty amount of dollars that next week,” Peters shared on the Holmes Stretch podcast just a day ago. Peters had a nine-year career, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs, and also had stints with the Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Ravens, and Las Vegas Raiders. He earned Pro Bowl honors and recorded 33 career interceptions during his time in the league.

After that game, Andy Reid also opened up on Peters’ incident.

Andy Reid addressed Marcus Peters’ flag toss

Days after the incident, Andy Reid addressed the situation directly.

“I had a chance to talk to Marcus and felt this was the right thing to do at this time,” Coach Reid said. “I’m not making it any more than that.”

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Reid explained that this choice was meant to establish a standard in the locker room, but he admitted it wasn’t an easy decision to make.

“I like Marcus Peters so, yeah, that’s a difficult thing to do,” Reid said. “Any time you have to do one of these things, that’s not the best part of the job. But I’ve always told you I’m going to do what I feel is best for this organization at that time, and I try to sit back, and I try to evaluate it, and that’s what I did, and this is the conclusion I came down with.”

Because of that, Peters missed the Chiefs’ 26-15 victory against the Raiders on December 10.

After his one-game suspension, Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters talked about leaving the field early during the Chiefs’ 38-31 loss to the Jets on Dec. 3, saying he thought he had been ejected.

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“Yeah, I thought I was ejected,” Peters said. “But y’all are talking about some (stuff) that happened three weeks ago.”

“Dang, I got suspended for throwing the flag,” Peters said about his suspension. “Shouldn’t have done that.”

However, later he bounced back. He returned with two interceptions, forced a fumble, and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.