Thursday, October 16, 2003
ESPN.com news services
OAKLAND, Calif. -- In-house squabbling among teammates may have reached a new level Thursday when injured Raiders tight end Marcus Williams filed a civil lawsuit against teammate Bill Romanowski on allegations of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The lawsuit stems from a training camp incident Aug. 24 in which Romanowski pulled off Williams' helmet and punched him in the left eye. Williams said he suffered serious injuries, including a broken left orbital bone, at least one broken tooth, and swelling and bleeding of the eye and face.
Williams celebrates the Raiders' AFC Championship win last season.
Williams' lawyer James J. Brosnahan claims the injuries may jeopardize Williams' NFL career. The second-year tight end is currently on the Raiders' injured reserve list and is out for this season
"Marcus Williams wants to continue as an Oakland Raider but this assault has put his future in doubt," Brosnahan said in a statement.
A call to Romanowski's agent, Tom Condon, was not immediately returned. The lawsuit is not a total surprise, as Williams' agent Lee Kolligian said soon after the incident that his client was considering legal action.
``Seeing Bill's somewhat cavalier attitude in terms of apologizing after each incident and saying it wasn't going to happen again and never being taken to task for it was getting underneath Marcus' skin,'' said agent Lee Kolligian.
According to the lawsuit, the Raiders had just finished a blocking drill during which Williams had been blocking Romanowski. As Williams walked back to receive instructions for the next play, Romanowski came up behind Williams and said, "Don't push me." As Williams turned to face Romanowski, the lawsuit states, Romanowski grabbed Williams' face mask and tore off Williams' helmet and punched Williams in the face.
The lawsuit notes that Williams then fell to his knees while clutching his left eye. Williams was taken to the hospital, but the lawsuit states he could not be treated immediately due to excessive swelling of the left eye.
While Williams was being held at the hospital, a detective with the Alameda Police Department arrived, took photographs and prepared a police report.
Soon after, Alameda Police Lt. Jim Brock told the San Francisco Chronicle that after speaking with Williams, his department would not pursue the matter. Williams also said he would not pursue a criminal complaint.
The Raiders, meanwhile, suspended Romanowski for one day of practice and fined him an undisclosed amount.
"It doesn't matter who it is," Raiders coach Bill Callahan said at the time of the suspension. "When it gets to that severity, I'm going to level a discipline. It goes beyond the game. Once it's beyond the respect and dignity of a player, it's a tragedy."
Romanowski eventually called his actions "a classless move" and apologized to Williams.
"I said what I had to say to him," Romanowski said. "I pretty much told everybody what I had to say. You can try to make excuses, but there's no excuses. It just won't happen again."
Williams joined the Raiders last season as a free agent and played in 13 games, as well as the team's first two playoff games. He did not play in the Super Bowl due to an ankle injury.
"I want to be a part of the Raiders, and I want to play pro football," Williams said in Thursday's statement. "I had a good year last year and felt like I was beginning to hit my stride. This whole thing has ruined my season and is a big disappointment. This crossed the line. This isn't football."
Romanowski is in his 16th NFL season and second with the Raiders, who signed him as a free agent before their run to the AFC championship last fall. He has appeared in five Super Bowls and had played in 240 consecutive regular-season games. He has been sidelined since Sept. 28, missing the game against the Chargers that day and subsequent games with a concussion.
He was second on the team in tackles last year while helping Oakland's defense improve to fourth overall against the run.
But Romanowski has a long history of violent scrapes with opponents and others. One of his more well-publicized incidents came in December 1997, when he spit in the face of San Francisco 49ers receiver J.J. Stokes while playing for the Denver Broncos in a nationally televised game.
Romanowski was fined $7,500 by the NFL -- one of several fines for his behavior during his career.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
ESPN.com news services
OAKLAND, Calif. -- In-house squabbling among teammates may have reached a new level Thursday when injured Raiders tight end Marcus Williams filed a civil lawsuit against teammate Bill Romanowski on allegations of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The lawsuit stems from a training camp incident Aug. 24 in which Romanowski pulled off Williams' helmet and punched him in the left eye. Williams said he suffered serious injuries, including a broken left orbital bone, at least one broken tooth, and swelling and bleeding of the eye and face.
Williams celebrates the Raiders' AFC Championship win last season.
Williams' lawyer James J. Brosnahan claims the injuries may jeopardize Williams' NFL career. The second-year tight end is currently on the Raiders' injured reserve list and is out for this season
"Marcus Williams wants to continue as an Oakland Raider but this assault has put his future in doubt," Brosnahan said in a statement.
A call to Romanowski's agent, Tom Condon, was not immediately returned. The lawsuit is not a total surprise, as Williams' agent Lee Kolligian said soon after the incident that his client was considering legal action.
``Seeing Bill's somewhat cavalier attitude in terms of apologizing after each incident and saying it wasn't going to happen again and never being taken to task for it was getting underneath Marcus' skin,'' said agent Lee Kolligian.
According to the lawsuit, the Raiders had just finished a blocking drill during which Williams had been blocking Romanowski. As Williams walked back to receive instructions for the next play, Romanowski came up behind Williams and said, "Don't push me." As Williams turned to face Romanowski, the lawsuit states, Romanowski grabbed Williams' face mask and tore off Williams' helmet and punched Williams in the face.
The lawsuit notes that Williams then fell to his knees while clutching his left eye. Williams was taken to the hospital, but the lawsuit states he could not be treated immediately due to excessive swelling of the left eye.
While Williams was being held at the hospital, a detective with the Alameda Police Department arrived, took photographs and prepared a police report.
Soon after, Alameda Police Lt. Jim Brock told the San Francisco Chronicle that after speaking with Williams, his department would not pursue the matter. Williams also said he would not pursue a criminal complaint.
The Raiders, meanwhile, suspended Romanowski for one day of practice and fined him an undisclosed amount.
"It doesn't matter who it is," Raiders coach Bill Callahan said at the time of the suspension. "When it gets to that severity, I'm going to level a discipline. It goes beyond the game. Once it's beyond the respect and dignity of a player, it's a tragedy."
Romanowski eventually called his actions "a classless move" and apologized to Williams.
"I said what I had to say to him," Romanowski said. "I pretty much told everybody what I had to say. You can try to make excuses, but there's no excuses. It just won't happen again."
Williams joined the Raiders last season as a free agent and played in 13 games, as well as the team's first two playoff games. He did not play in the Super Bowl due to an ankle injury.
"I want to be a part of the Raiders, and I want to play pro football," Williams said in Thursday's statement. "I had a good year last year and felt like I was beginning to hit my stride. This whole thing has ruined my season and is a big disappointment. This crossed the line. This isn't football."
Romanowski is in his 16th NFL season and second with the Raiders, who signed him as a free agent before their run to the AFC championship last fall. He has appeared in five Super Bowls and had played in 240 consecutive regular-season games. He has been sidelined since Sept. 28, missing the game against the Chargers that day and subsequent games with a concussion.
He was second on the team in tackles last year while helping Oakland's defense improve to fourth overall against the run.
But Romanowski has a long history of violent scrapes with opponents and others. One of his more well-publicized incidents came in December 1997, when he spit in the face of San Francisco 49ers receiver J.J. Stokes while playing for the Denver Broncos in a nationally televised game.
Romanowski was fined $7,500 by the NFL -- one of several fines for his behavior during his career.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
