Romo-49ers Feud Heats Up
The San Francisco 49ers seem to be playing right into Bill Romanowski's hands.
A week-long war of words between the irascible Denver linebacker and 49ers players J.J. Stokes and Garrison Hearst continued Thursday after Hearst called Romanowski a "racist dope pusher."
Shrugging off the characterization, Romanowski attacked Hearst's standing or lack thereof in the NFL. Hearst has been sidelined by a severe ankle injury the past two seasons.
"Garrison Hearst? I don't even know who he is," Romanowski said. "Has he even played? I mean he's jawing and saying all that in the paper. That's the last of my worries."
The feud stems from an infamous confrontation three years ago when Romanowski spit in Stokes' face during a nationally televised Monday night game.
Vilified in the days following the game, Romanowski later offered an apology and the teams played a preseason game without incident on Aug. 25.
Asked again this week about his regrettable night in San Francisco, Romanowski rekindled the rivalry when he said Stokes has "no fight in him. If somebody did that to me, they'd have to throw me out of the game, because I'd go after him."
Stokes fired back, saying Romanowski lacks integrity and relies on performance-enhancing drugs.
Romanowski is known for his quirky fitness regimen that includes a hyperbaric chamber and a tackle box filled with vitamins and nutritional supplements. He also has been charged with fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs.
Romanowski has a history of playing head games with opposing players, but Broncos coach Mike Shanahan questioned his judgment this week.
"If Bill did strike it up again, it's a bad decision on his part," Shanahan said. "He tried to apologize. Obviously he didn't take his apology. For him to go back into it I think is a mistake, but Bill has a way of trying to get players to get out of the mindset of playing and start thinking of other things. I'm sure that's the direction he's going."
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