Florida defensive lineman Jamari Lyons was ejected late in the second quarter of the Gators’ game against No. 5 Florida State for spitting at a Seminoles player.
Lyons was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the spit and the referee explicitly announced that Lyons had been ejected for spitting at Keiondre Jones. A replay from ESPN made it incredibly clear that Lyons had indeed spit toward Jones.
The NCAA rule book makes it very clear that spitting at an opponent is an automatic ejection. Under the sixth section of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, the rule states that “spitting on an opponent requires ejection.”
Lyons is a redshirt freshman who has been an important part of Florida’s defensive line. He had 20 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss entering the game.
The penalty and ejection also helped set up Florida State for its first touchdown of the game. The Seminoles trailed 12-0 at the time of the penalty and drove down the field to cut Florida’s lead to five before halftime.