A big rivalry game to kick off an NFL season always has a chance to make history. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys made history for one very unsavory reason.
Six seconds into the game, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter lost his cool and spit on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Doing so got him ejected and stained the 2025 season opener.
Carter’s boneheaded move is among the quickest ejections in NFL history. (Players have also been ejected before games.)
But as awful as Carter spitting on Prescott was, it’s far from the first spitting incident in sports. Here are other notable incidents of expectoration in sports history:
Roberto Alomar goes ballistic
Roberto Alomar surely prefers to be known for his Hall of Fame resume or being part of two World Series-winning teams for Toronto. However, the star second baseman will also be forever notorious for one of the ugliest interactions between a player and an umpire in MLB history.
On Sept. 27, 1996, while playing for the Baltimore Orioles, Alomar spit in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck after a heated argument over a called third strike. Major League Baseball suspended Alomar for five games and fined him $50,000 for the incident.
Many point to this incident for why Baseball Hall of Fame voters made Alomar wait an extra year to be elected despite a worthy body of work for his position. (Alomar made the HOF in 2011.)
Alomar, who is Puerto Rican, later claimed Hirschbeck used a racial slur, an allegation never substantiated. The men have since reconciled.
“If that’s the worst thing Robbie ever does in his life, he’ll lead a real good life,” Hirschbeck said years after the incident, per the Associated Press. “People make mistakes. You forgive, you forget and you move on.”
MLS player spits after Leagues Cup final
Carter spitting on Prescott isn’t even the only sports spitting incident of the week.
Hours before the Eagles and Cowboys played their version of football, an MLS player issued an apology for spitting.
Following the Leagues Cup Final on Aug. 31, Inter Miami striker Luis Suárez appeared to spit on a staff member of the Seattle Sounders.
“First, I want to congratulate the Seattle Sounders for their Leagues Cup triumph,” Suárez wrote on Instagram on Thursday. “But most of all, I want to apologize for my behavior when the game ended.”
1990 World Cup spitting incident
Of course, soccer is no stranger to spitting incidents.
In 1990, former Netherlands player Frank Rijkaard spit in the hair (mullet to be exact) of West Germany’s Rudi Voller not once but twice during a World Cup match.
Other NFL spitting incidents
In 2006, the NFL fined Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens $35,000 for spitting on Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall.
In November 2010, Miami Dolphins linebacker and current “Pivot” podcast host Channing Crowder accused Baltimore Ravens fullback Le’Ron McClain of spitting in his face when Crowder walked over to the Baltimore huddle to call a timeout. McClain denied the accusation.
A year earlier, in December 2009, Ravens cornerback Frank Walker acknowledged that he accidentally spat in the face of Steelers punter Mitch Berger. But Walker still added more fuel to the bitter rivalry with his apology.
“It was just a slobber moment,” said Walker after the game, per the Associated Press. However, when asked if he felt bad that the Steelers thought he did it on purpose, Walker replied: “I don’t care. I hate Pittsburgh.”
