Sherman angered by Sapp hit, celebration

ESPN.com ^ | Sunday, November 24 | Len Pasquarelli

[southern rock]

TAMPA, Fla. -- The longstanding feud between former divisional rivals Tampa Bay and Green Bay ratcheted up from ugly to grotesque Sunday when Packers head coach Mike Sherman and Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp engaged in a heated and occasionally obscenity-laced argument a few seconds after the game ended.

The object of Sherman's ire, which led him to confront Sapp on the Tampa Bay sideline after congratulating other Tampa Bay players: His displeasure with Sapp's hit on Chad Clifton during an interception return by cornerback Brian Kelly in the third quarter, and with the celebration by Sapp while the Green Bay offensive tackle lay motionless on the field.

There was no penalty on the play.

"He's a great player but I just don't think there's any place for that," said Sherman, who took an unusually long time to emerge from the locker room for his session with the media. "Maybe it wasn't a (cheap) play and maybe I just overreacted … but I didn't think it was appropriate."

Sapp responded afterward by suggesting Sherman cursed at him and then termed the Packers coach "a lying, (manure)-eating hound. … If I was 25 years old and didn't have a kid and a conscience, I would have given him an ass-kicking right there at the 30-yard line."

The play in question occurred with 7:33 remaining in the third quarter, when Favre tried to connect with wide receiver Terry Glenn on a post pattern. The Tampa Bay secondary had the pattern double-covered, with strong safety John Lynch deep, and Kelly made a fairly easy interception.

Near the end of his 31-yard return, which set up a four-yard touchdown grab by wide receiver Joe Jurevicius and nudged the Bucs into a 14-7 lead, Sapp clearly launched himself into Clifton. The Green Bay starting left tackle then crumpled to the ground, lay there for several minutes, was finally strapped to a back board and taken from the field.

Clifton lost feeling in his extremities for a short period and, while he was on the ground, Sapp was shown on the in-stadium video screens celebrating. It was apparently that celebration which most bothered Sherman and some of the Green Bay players. Clifton was able to move his arms and legs as he left the field.

Sapp did not deny that he hunted Clifton out on the play.

"Yeah, I was a heat-seeking missile," Sapp said. "Boom. Boom. Boom. And I hit him."

Packers officials announced that Clifton suffered a hip injury and Sherman said he would remain in a local hospital overnight while the club's medical staff "investigated some other (physical) things, too."

Most of the players and coaches from both teams, and much of the media which had assembled on the field for the last few minutes of the game, were unaware of the Sherman-Sapp incident. During the incident, an unidentified Packers staffer was shoved by Sapp, then functionaries from both franchises stepped into the fray.

At one point in the shouting match, Sapp screamed at Sherman: "If you think you're so tough, why don't you put on a uniform?"

Sherman was shaken by the incident, but appeared to have calmed down by the time he addressed the media. "It bothers me," he said. "And I think the game of football … well, it should bother the game of football as well."

The confrontation is certain to draw the scrutiny of league officials and both Sherman and Sapp could be subject to NFL discipline.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

[southern rock]

Michael Strahan is quoted as saying he believes Sapp is a "jackass". Do we agree?

[Catspaw]

You bet.

And Chad Clifton is still hospitalized.

[gaspar]

It was the cheapest of cheap shots, far from the action. In the old days every offensive lineman on opposing teams would make the effort to "cut" at the knees a player who so flagrantly violated the unwritten rule of football conduct.

[marajade]

It was reviewed by the NFL and it was a legal hit... If coaches don't like it they should vote a new rule about the length of yardage a tackle can take place away from the catch...

[dfwgator]

He went to Miami, nuff said.

[Enterprise]

Ditto!

[jwalsh07]

The rules of football have always been that the game is played from sideline to sideline and until the whistle blows. Every football player is taught that simple rule and those that fail to heed it get knocked on their behind and, unfortunately, sometimes get injured.

I am unfamiliar with the "unwritten rule" you refer to.

[vetvetdoug]

In the old days a man hit someone on the field and returned to the huddle quietly. No showboating, no waving of the hands, and no "hey look at me, look what I did". No matter how vicious the hit was, after it was over it was over (ie look at how Butkus acted after some of the meanest hits on the field ever). These new players aren't players, they are gorillas, monkeys; overpaid rectal openings with no honor or grace. The people that pay to see these cretins are the ones responsible for their actions. A little bankruptcy in the NFL would be a good thing.

[jwalsh07]

Two different issues. One is bs showboating which I don't like and the other is football.

[Gee Wally]

It was reviewed by the NFL and it was a legal hit.

Yes it was a legal cheap shot. When 11 Green Bay Packers slam into Sapp's knees it will also be legal. The NFL is a freakshow now and Sapp is among the leaders of the show. Does anybody doubt if the player that had been assaulted was Brett Favre instead of a no-name lineman that the NFL would have taken action. Offensive lineman count for nothing. If the NFL wants to condone cheap shots like Sapp's, then it had better be prepared to accept the retaliation.

[marajade]

It was a legal hit... If owner's don't like it they need to change the rules...

Do you think its just Sapp making those hits?

[Willie Green]

He went to Miami, nuff said.

IOW, he can't read or write at the 6th Grade level.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Bumping to keep an eye on this thread. (I'm proud of Mike Sherman.) And by the way, GO PACK.

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

I'm not so much bothered by the original hit(everybody who's ever gone to a football game loves a good solid hit on an opposing player), it's part of the game. It's the celebration part when an injured player is lying there on a backboard that pisses me off. That's bush league.

When I played ball in high school, I once hit a defensive end in practice so hard he flew about 8 feet from where he was standing. But I was protecting my quarterback, who he was rushing up the blindside to sack. I didn't intentionally seek him out to injure him(he was fine), and I damn sure didn't celebrate. I just did my job on the field.

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

Time to take Sapp out. Next time they play Green Bay, Green Bay should have the Guard Cut him as the Tackle cuts the side of his knee. Should either end his season or career, a little retaliation. Revenge is a dish best served Cold. GO Packers.

[Zack Nguyen]

It was a legal hit, but totally unnecessary. Sapp saw someone who wasn't looking and wanted to ring his bell. It had no bearing on the play whatsoever. It was completely pointless, other than to cause serious injury to an opposing player.

[damncat]

The "hit" is being gratuitously used by the media to hype the game of football. Ancient history, what the packers do today is of far greater importance.

They better wake up before the bears extend our losing streak.

[mngalt]

I agree with everything except the Go Pickers.

I've been waiting for someone to take this bloated halfwitted moron's head off, legal or otherwise, ever since he intentionally and maliciously knocked Steve Young out and hastened the end of his career. It's especially galling to see an animal like this guy affecting the play and career of his better, on the field and off.

[LouD]

A legal cheap shot, intended to take Clifton out of the game. I used to have a lot of respect for Sapp, but I hope the Pack declares open season on him next game.

[southern rock]

These new players aren't players, they are gorillas, monkeys; overpaid rectal openings with no honor or grace.

This is exactly the way I feel. Wether Sapp's legal hit was a cheap shot or not is secondary to the prideful, dancing, gloating, showboating monkey gestures that go on after every play. It is sickening.

And yes, Warren Sapp is a jackass!