The New England Patriots announced Monday that they had identified the fan who threw a beer at Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill Sunday night, saying in a statement that the fan “will be sent a letter of disinvite to all future events at Gillette Stadium.” The Patriots also said the matter has been turned over to local law enforcement.

New England fans let Hill have it with both barrels after he scored the tying touchdown late in Sunday’s wild game in New England, a 43-40 Patriots win.

First, one fan threw beer in Hill’s face as his cruising speed carried him out of the end zone and into the padding covering the stands. In case the message was lost, several fans with end zone seats then flipped him off.

Hill’s 75-yard touchdown catch came with just more than three minutes left in the game, finishing off a lightning quick Kansas City “drive” consuming 12 seconds and only that one play. The speed of the drive wound up helping New England, allowing Tom Brady to eat up the remaining time with run plays and a 39-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski that put the Patriots in field-goal range. Stephen Gostkowski’s winning kick, from 28 yards, capped a frenetic 30-point fourth quarter, with the Patriots handing the Chiefs their first loss of the season.

But before that came Hill’s touchdown, and the hostile end-zone greeting from Patriots fans. The ugly display was caught by NBC’s cameras and quickly captured social media conversation.

“What’s sad is if (Hill) hit one of them, he’d be in the wrong,” former NFL receiver Nate Burleson tweeted. “This tweet is not to encourage NFL players to respond aggressively to unruly idiots but more of a message to FANS … You’re not at the zoo watching animals so show some respect!”

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Hill, who caught seven passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns, said he was unbothered by the chilly reception.

“My coach (Andy Reid) told me, ‘Don’t get emotional. Don’t get mad about it because it comes with the territory,'” he said afterward, according to NESN. “I’m not mad at all.”

Others noted that Hill had already been given a single-digit salute two weeks ago at Denver.

Football fans, of course, haven’t cornered the market on this behavior. Red Sox reliever Craig Kimbrel was almost hit with a beer can as he left the bullpen at Yankee Stadium during the ALDS last week.


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