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The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens squared off on Thursday Night Football, and this hard-hitting rivalry left many with bumps and bruises as Baltimore left Heinz Field with their first win of 2015. However, for some, those bumps and bruises are stinging a bit more than others. Count Ravens' WR Steve Smith Sr. as one of those players as he talked to media following the game about how he hurt his back in the 23-20 overtime victory.
Well, maybe it is best you just watch for yourself.
Just watch pic.twitter.com/dCrc8aVQov
— Glenn Younes (@gunitradio) October 2, 2015
Those were Smith's direct comments regarding his former teammate on the Carolina Panthers, Mike Mitchell. Smith spoke of Mitchell asking him, "How do you like that?" after he tackled him during the game. It is apparent saying such a thing to a player like Smith are words which aren't just "fighting" words, but words which put Mitchell on Smith's "lifetime hit list".
"My ex-teammate, I kinda know his character and know who he is. But after he hit me he said like "How you like that?", so the best thing I could do without threatening him and saying that I will assault him when I see him again is say I am looking forward to playing him again and uh, he's on my lifetime hit list." Smith said.
Watch the video, you hear reporters chuckle when he talks about assaulting Mitchell, but Smith Sr.'s demeanor quickly changes the giggles to deadpan silence when they realize he isn't joking. With the NFL looking to clean up it's image on a lot of different fronts, they would be wise to pick up the phone and talk to the Ravens, head coach John Harbaugh and Smith himself about how to handle himself following a football game.
A player putting another player on any kind of 'hit list' is something the league is obviously trying to get away from, especially after the 'BountyGate' scandal with the New Orleans Saints a few years ago.
Smith reportedly is suggesting Mike Mitchell speared him intentionally in the back, causing him to miss the remainder of the game with a lower back contusion. Either way you see it, when the Steelers and Ravens play again in 2015, this matchup of former teammates will be worth watching.