On Tuesday, the Dallas Cowboys held their second joint practice of training camp with the New Orleans Saints in Oxnard, California. However, the session quickly grabbed attention for all the wrong reasons, as a spate of fights and an overall lack of composure overshadowed the actual football.
The chaotic practice left Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer visibly frustrated as his team failed to show better discipline.
Brian Schottenheimer Has Had Enough After Cowboys-Saints Joint Practice Spirals Into Chaos
Several skirmishes erupted between Saints and Cowboys players early in Tuesday’s session, turning into a messy and increasingly physical affair.
The usual pushing and shoving occurred between Saints wide receiver Chris Olave and Cowboys safety Malik Hooker, but the intensity quickly went beyond the typical level of contact seen during joint practices.
The session featured at least six separate physical altercations.
Following practice, Schottenheimer admitted he was unhappy with how the session unfolded and stressed that Dallas needed to maintain better control of its emotions and discipline.
“Not the way we like to do business, got to be better, but I got to look at the film,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re certainly not going to take [expletive] from anybody.
“But again, it was chippy on both sides. And like I said, I want our guys to play on the edge without going over the edge. One guy seems like he might have thrown a punch, and that’s why he left practice.”
START PREPARING:PFN’s Free Fantasy Draft Simulator
The player Schottenheimer was referring to was Donovan Ezeiruaku, who was removed from Tuesday’s practice after allegedly throwing a punch during a large melee involving Saints center Erik McCoy. The confrontation became even more heated when McCoy ripped off a Cowboys player’s helmet and launched it in the air.
Ezeiruaku has already found himself at the center of a similar situation during training camp. He was previously pulled from the Cowboys’ August 6 practice after getting involved in a physical altercation.
However, Ezeiruaku was not the only Cowboys player involved in the heated exchanges this time around.
Dallas linebacker Sam Williams reportedly threw a punch at a Saints tight end during the joint session.
In another confrontation, Saints’ Brock Rechsteiner, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner, performed a German Suplex maneuver on a Dallas defender.
The repeated fights eventually had both head coaches questioning whether the practice should continue.
BE THE GM OF YOUR FAVORITE TEAM:PFN’s Free NFL Mock Draft Simulator
Schottenheimer revealed that he and Saints head coach Kellen Moore discussed potentially ending the session early. “Kellen and I talked about a couple different things,” Schottenheimer said. “We decided once it settled down, we kind of had agreed that if a couple other things happened, we would cancel it.
“But they worked through it, they settled into it, but again, there’s a discipline element to playing this football game. And unfortunately, we didn’t handle that very well today. But again, I don’t think we were the only culprits.”
The practice marked the Saints’ first appearance in Oxnard since 2011, but their return was overshadowed by a series of ugly confrontations between the two teams. Despite the numerous altercations, neither team has announced any disciplinary action against the players involved.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.