04/25/24
August 26, 2003
Romanowski knocks teammate out six weeks with a punch.: Known his entire career as a dirty player, this biography fills in some details you might not want to know.
Romo = fucking asshole. Roid rage. This "seldom used" tight end now has a choice between a guaranteed spot on the team or a lawsuit. Take your pick.
posted by vito90 at 11:24 AM on August 26, 2003
I doubt he'll file a lawsuit since he declined to press charges.
posted by dusted at 11:31 AM on August 26, 2003
Romo had a meeting with Callahan, no doubt this will be handled "internally". He should be fined, perhaps even suspended. But he plays so "sparingly". Long story short: Williams gets punched, Romo doesn't get punished, Raiders win anyway. Al Davis Smiles. Greasy bastard...
posted by lilnemo at 12:27 PM on August 26, 2003
Speaking of which...Uncle Al wins a partial victory and $34 Million decision.
posted by lilnemo at 01:33 PM on August 26, 2003
Ray Ratto thinks it's pretty funny, which is probably the right response. I'd like to know what Williams said to set him off. It's not like there aren't a million way to make fun of this guy... Romanowski told how every three months he sends a shipment of his excrement to a laboratory to have it examined: "They find out all kinds of things. They find deficiencies in your body. They can discover bacteria in your gut. It's fascinating."
posted by dusted at 02:56 PM on August 26, 2003
I can't imagine it's very funny to the guy with the fractured eye socket. If we prosecute drunken hooligans who barely even bruise umpires and first-base coaches, how does Romanowski get away with literally cracking someone's skull?
posted by rcade at 03:15 PM on August 26, 2003
Romo is on double secret probation but don't tell anyone I told you!
posted by billsaysthis at 05:23 PM on August 26, 2003
I've always hated Romo while admiring his effectiveness. He's a mean sonofabitch, but that's a positive attribute in a football player, especially on defense. Wide receivers break off routes to stay away from him! Ratto doesn't say "ha ha, this is funny," but he does say that this is close to the roots of (especially Raiders) football. It's also more compelling than the preseason games we've been subjected to, where the only goal is to escape unhurt.
posted by dusted at 05:26 PM on August 26, 2003
I doubt he'll file a lawsuit since he declined to press charges. Not pressing charges has no bearing on whether the lawsuit happens. I can almost guarantee that Romo will get sued by this guy IF he gets cut from the team. It's quite obvious that this man's ability to earn a living has been greviously hampered. I'd expect...hmmm...$2million lawsuit. The only thing that the jury would have to decide is the amount, and I could see them knocking it down to...hmmm...$500,000.
posted by grum@work at 06:09 PM on August 26, 2003
I can't imagine it's very funny to the guy with the fractured eye socket. rcade nails that one. Not funny at all. He's a mean sonofabitch, but that's a positive attribute in a football player, especially on defense. Not when he's playing your offense, it ain't. I hate Romo. Always have. He's not "old school", he's just a jackass, juicing, cheating, felonious punk. Add this to the incredibly long list of reasons why I feel this way.
posted by 86 at 06:34 PM on August 26, 2003
Not when he's playing your offense, it ain't. But that's exactly my point. If your offense dreads playing against him, that's an advantage to the Raiders. The Tim Brown quote at the end of the second article illustrates the point perfectly: Because of Romanowski's reputation, longtime Raiders receiver Tim Brown wasn't enthused when he heard the team signed the linebacker. "I didn't like the guy at all," Brown said. "I just didn't like the way he played football. I thought he basically was a dirty football player. He's a guy I'd avoid on the street if I saw him." Romanowski, of course, saw it differently: "I have a reputation of what a Raider player is all about. So not only am I one of the most hated players in the league, but I'm on one of the most hated teams. Seems like a great fit." And now - after playing with Romanowski for the season and seeing the Raiders get to their first Super Bowl in 19 years - Brown seems to agree: "I love him now."
posted by dusted at 06:59 PM on August 26, 2003
dusted, he broke the guy's face. He broke his teammate's face. With a punch. This is not a positive attribute.
posted by 86 at 07:11 PM on August 26, 2003
Sorry, I need to clarify my comments. I meant that his aggressiveness has a positive effect for his team when he scares the opposing players. Attacking his own teammates was definitely counterproductive, besides being totally wrong and illegal.
posted by dusted at 09:07 PM on August 26, 2003
Dusted, I can totally see your point. This is a brutal goddamned game. These guys are really trying to punish each other on every play. They're warriors. And this is what it takes for Romo to remain among them. Romo isn't the first dirty player, and he certainly won't be the last. His extraneous actions are beyond the pale but that only enhances his ultimate value to the NFL.
posted by vito90 at 10:24 PM on August 26, 2003
I remember seeing great slo-mo replay footage of Romonowski in a pile-up giving an opposing player who was pinned near the bottom uncontested shots to the balls. 4 or 5 before someone pushed him off. Bag-tagged! Right in the numerators! Dusted and Vito, while I can see your point - it's a violent game played by men who are paid to be violent - the line has to be drawn somewhere. I guess technically if I stabbed a opponent in the throat a coupe dozen times in a stripclub, I would be "striking fear into those that play against me, thus producing a postiive effect for my team." We already have a generation of NFL players (and fans) who believe in that kind of attitude because that sentiment, and that kind of behaviour is rewarded in the lockerroom and at contract time by shortsighted players and management. A violent anti-social attitude is not essential in producing great football players - Reggie White was a minister for the love of god - and justifying that kind of behaviour within the context of a football game is misplaced. I don't mind the occasional practice 'equipment fight' (lots of helmet slapping and calling of 'bitch'), but at some point you get counterproductive.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:17 AM on August 27, 2003
This kind of activity is part of what's driving more towards soccer. I think that this Fall, for the first time in my life, I will be prioritizing EPL matches ahead of NFL, especially when Liverpool is involved. OT: And monday nights are now for BBC America's Mystery Monday. How many of you are John Rebus fans? How about red cap, wire in the blood, or waking the dead? These Brits make some decent TV, apparently.
posted by billsaysthis at 09:28 AM on August 27, 2003
Williams is out for the season and risks never play again, presumably due to vision problems though the article isn't clear. My gut response to this news is that Romanowski should be suspended for the season.
posted by rcade at 10:11 AM on August 27, 2003
Romanowski is a badass... I would NEVER fuck with him. We should put him in a ring with Mike Tyson.
posted by StarFucker at 10:49 AM on August 27, 2003
My gut response is that Williams should press charges, or file a civil suit. If this incident happens in the parking lot of the training facility, Romo wouldn't get off with a fine and an apology.
posted by mbd1 at 11:14 AM on August 27, 2003
Driving more people towards soccer? The only difference is in soccer, this crap happens in the stands. Romo should be kicked out of the fucking league. Period. If Al Davis and the Raiders don't have the balls to do it, the NFL should. Here's why: We already know this guy's not completely there from his history. What happens if he snaps during a game and does this? I GUARANTEE you the National Football League winds up with a big fat lawsuit which it will lose, because it allowed Romo to play despite his track record.
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:03 PM on August 27, 2003
I think Romo should pony up the $300,000 that Williams stood to make in salary this year.
posted by Scottymac at 05:25 PM on August 27, 2003
Suspended for a SEASON? How about suspended permantely? Do you think that if he weren't so good, he would be off the team??? In a heartbeat. And these pathetic little attempts by the NFL to punish him...I mean, a "The brutal hit brought a $20,000 fine by the NFL"-he probably makes that up in less than a game!!! And for this incident he's suspended for A DAY? The guy he hit may never play again. And even if he was fine, it's still WRONG. The only message that those pathetic attempts by the NFL send is that it's okay, as long as you're a good player. It's okay to be a violent psychopath. It's okay to be an animal. As for him being a "typical Raider image" player, that's such bullshit. That's the reason that the stupid Raiders fans riot and the team says nothing about it. The whole Raiders team, from Davis on down, are nothing but thugs, hooligans, and barely human apes (except maybe Rice and a few others.) People like this is why I have no respect for football. Mindless violent criminals like this asshole. And my Oakand taxes pay for his team. Great. I'm SO happy about that.
posted by aacheson at 11:09 PM on August 27, 2003
Romanowski has my vote as the NFL player most likely to join O.J. Simpson in the Athletes WHo Killed Somebody wing of Canton.