With many thanks to Jonathan Stein for pointing it out to me, buried at the very bottom of the AP recap of the Steelers/Broncos game is this little note:
Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter was fined $15,000 by the league after he threatened an official following the Steelers’ 20-13 loss to the Raiders last Sunday. Porter, angered for an unknown reason, was flagged 15 yards after telling an official that he would come after him.
Angered for an unknown reason? Here, I’ll take a stab at it. Reason 1: He just lost to the Raiders. 2. He’s Joey Porter, and since when does Joey Porter need a reason to be angry? Ask Jerramy Stevens. Joey Porter doesn’t need a reason to do anything, because Joey Porter is crazier than a bag of angel dust. That’s your reason.
Oh, what I wouldn’t give for YouTube footage of Joey Porter threatening bodily harm on a 60-year-old man in a black-and-white vertically striped shirt. Checking out the Gamebook from NFL.com, I see that none of the officials in that game were named Ed Hochuli, so unless the official has a couple of black belts and/or an AK-47, it’s not a fair fight. You can’t even realistically give Eddie Hoch a chance in a fight against Porter, so there’s no way anyone else would have a prayer.
I wonder what the threat was. I hope Joey threatened to have his dogs chew the official’s face off. But even a simple “I’ll beat your ass, old man” is kind of awesome.
Two other questions, though… shouldn’t threatening an official warrant some kind of a suspension, and shouldn’t this be a little bigger of a story? Imagine the headlines of Rasheed Wallace threatened to beat the hell out of Dick Bavetta. A $15,000 fine is what you get for tapping a quarterback’s helmet. I’m sure that Tyler Brayton’s going to get more than that for his attempted knee to Jerramy Stevens’ man parts, but what poses a greater problem for the NFL? Protecting Jerramy Stevens’ coin purse, or Joey Porter threatening to OJ an official on the field of play?
I’m sure that Joey was just frustrated at the time, and I’m sure (like 90-95%, anyway) that the official is in no real physical danger. But still, the league can’t tolerate players threatening officials. You just can’t have that.
And, just because…
Joey Porter, ladies and gentlemen. Doing everything in his power to bring back the half-shirt.
The Critic
Ed would knock Joey out. That’s one bad dude in a ref’s uniform.
November 7, 2006 at 8:20 am
Matt Moore
According to Denver local news all he said was, “I’m coming after you.” Pretty weak sauce, I was hoping he threatened to sic his dogs on the man’s miniature horse.
November 7, 2006 at 9:05 am
unc_samurai
I guess Joey thought commenting on the referee’s uniforms was just too easy.
November 7, 2006 at 10:08 am
jerloma
You’d think this type of behavior would be left to the linebackers who are sauced up on things I can’t spell.
November 7, 2006 at 10:47 am
Suss
Oh, I don’t know. Jeff Triplett’s been known to drop a lineman with a well-placed flag.
November 7, 2006 at 11:21 am
mc
Did Joey just pull a “they shot me in Denver?”
November 7, 2006 at 11:45 am
bern1
Maybe he threatened to put a little extra hot sauce on that official’s ankle.
November 7, 2006 at 2:04 pm
SLaird22
MC, they did shoot him in Denver if you don’t remember…I was wondering what the purpose of that video was, and then bam, totally redeemed.
Also, I’m a Steeler fan and…
“You can’t even realistically give Eddie Hoch a chance in a fight against Porter”
I still think you are a blasphemer.
November 7, 2006 at 2:10 pm
thejim
I smell a claymation battle royal in the works.
November 7, 2006 at 2:45 pm
mjdReader
After the Raiders game, Cowher said that one of the personal fouls against the Steelers was the result of the ref mistaking the recipient of a Steeler’s comment. The comment was directed towards a Raider, but the ref thought it was directed towards him. Perhaps it was Joey Porters comment that was misinterpreted.
All the talk about Joey Porter being the most feared man in the league is a farce. He’s not that great. There’s a reason they haven’t given him his pay raise.
November 7, 2006 at 2:48 pm
jerloma
Joey Porter is one of the most overrated players in the NFL. It shouldn’t even be up for debate.
November 7, 2006 at 5:02 pm
Jonathan Stein
If I ever start a sports blog, it’s going to be titled “They shot me in Denver!”
November 7, 2006 at 5:03 pm
la commish
i kind of like joey potter. sometimes a little helping of thug life goes well with my football viewing.
though i’m surprised to see him sporting a half shirt. i didn’t know that got street cred these days….
November 7, 2006 at 7:54 pm
Rich Uncle Skeleton
At the AFCCG last year (which never happened) I screamed “who shot ya, Joey?” at him over and over and over again during pre-game warm-ups.
He “shot” me the finger.
November 8, 2006 at 6:21 pm
stlcurtain88
He obviously isnt overrated if he won a superbowl last year and sacked the shit out of jake plummer and peyton manning in the playoffs. Oh yeah, did i mention that he led the league in sacks last year also.
November 9, 2006 at 11:47 am
big_GB
Joey Porter is a big bad bad dude, a great hitter, a true football star. He will come to your house and kick your a$$ if you piss him off. The Steeler’s are a top notch team, no doubt.
November 9, 2006 at 12:41 pm
john
they are the best 2-6 team for sure. top notch. joey porter did not win the super bowl, the steelers did, which has nothing to do with a player being over rated or not.
as for leading the league in sacks in 2005, he was tied for 11th in the nfl (10.5) for the regular season, which is how the nfl determines the sack league leader. derrick burgess (16.0) led the nfl in sacks in 2005.
November 9, 2006 at 7:33 pm
Blaire
I think Joey is hott. I think he really stepped up this year now that The bus isnt here. I think its hott when he smack talks. haha
November 25, 2006 at 5:13 pm