Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis served a one-game suspension last Sunday after doing this to Davante Adams the week before:

Turns out, this isn't the first time Davis ear-holed an unsuspecting wide receiver in the middle of the field. During Week 17 of the 2016 season, Davis de-cleated Tampa Bay's Russell Shepherd on a play in which quarterback Jameis Winston is sacked. Pay attention to the top of the screen:

Last week, when Davis' suspension for crushing Adams was reduced from two games to one, Adams, who suffered a concussion, took to Twitter.

"I'll never understand it. Game is already dangerous enough and we got Pro Bowl players out here head hunting and saying they 'didn't mean to harm me.' Somebody please explain to me what 'I wasn't trying to hurt him' means when we nowhere near the play and [you] lead with ya head and ear hole a defenseless player....

"Look it's football but no room for s--t like that," Adams continued. "We supposed to be in this together [and] look out for one another not mess with a man's livelihood and hand out unnecessary concussions. We all got mouths to feed what if I did that to him and his kids can't eat... Not the type to rant but when [you] go through this s--t twice in a year it takes a lil toll on [you] so excuse me."

Davis spoke publicly about the hit for the first time on Thursday and he's not crazy about the perception that he's trying to hurt people.

"It's very unfair," Davis said of the criticism, via ESPN.com's David Newton. "I've seen a lot of stuff that's being said. Obviously, people are going to form their own opinions based on what they saw. At the end of the day, I know for 13 years I've played the game the right way. I can rest easy on it."

Panthers coach Ron Rivera defended his linebacker. "The thing a lot of people have to understand is Thomas plays through the whistle," Rivera said after the Packers game. "He's going to play hard. He's always in a good hitting position. He never ducks his head. He hits with the front part of his body. He's a physical player. Unfortunately, when you have a couple of big hits like that and people react to them, some people may [say it's dirty]. I don't see that."

Adams disagrees.