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DENVER (AP) -- Refusing to let a three-year-old incident die,
Denver Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski stoked the fires this
week, challenging an opponent to "fight back."
During a game in San Francisco in 1997, Romanowski spit in the
face of 49ers wide receiver J.J. Stokes, for which Romanowski was
fined $7,500 by the NFL.
Stokes never retaliated, and he later refused to accept
Romanowski's apology when the linebacker tried to issue one through
the agent the players shared.
The players still have not spoken, and Romanowski said he has no
plans to when the two teams meet on Saturday at Mile High Stadium.
"No, he's still all sore and bitter," Romanowski told the
Denver Post. "Hopefully this time he'll fight back. To me, he's
got 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. What I did was
wrong. But if somebody did that to me? ..."
Stokes did not take kindly to Romanowski's comments on Tuesday.
"That's just him running his mouth," Stokes said. "You know
Romo. He's a loudmouthed guy. That's just a lack of honor, a lack
of respect. He lacks integrity and lacks a lot of things, and he
tries to make up for it with performance enhancers. He's always in
the paper for doing something wrong, so obviously his parents
didn't raise him right.
"I feel like I've got a lot of fight in me. If I had to do it
again, I would have literally tried to kill the man. But it was
within the game, and that's not what I did. I guarantee it won't
happen again."
The incident was rehashed earlier this month when Oakland
defensive end Regan Upshaw spit on Pittsburgh punter Josh Miller.
"It was not a good move on my part," Romanowski said, "but
I've lived with the consequences. I'm just ready to play the 49ers
this week."
Stokes, too, was ready to get on with the game.
"Whatever happens Saturday, happens," he said. "I'll say
this. Our main objective is to go in there and get a win. I can't
help it that he's a loudmouth."
Romanowski did, however, voice respect for one of Stokes'
teammates, Jerry Rice, who likely will be playing his final game
for the 49ers on Saturday.
Romanowski, who played for the 49ers from 1988-93, called Rice
"a true professional. He was gifted, but he also had the work
ethic. He's one of the best who has ever played the game.
"Every day he took the practice field, he was playing a game,
he was performing. He wasn't practicing. This guy was an
inspiration for everybody who was around him."
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