PHILADELPHIA -- Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams said umpire Roy Ellison cussed him out during a drive late in the first half Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, an accusation teammates backed.
Williams said Ellison walked by him after a play and called him a "garbage-ass, disrespectful m-----f-----."
Pool reporter Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch attempted to contact the officials regarding the accusation. The officials already were on a bus, so Phillips told the driver he needed to talk to head referee Walt Coleman. According to Phillips, Coleman came to the window and asked what he wanted. When Williams' account was relayed to Coleman, Phillips said the referee said, "OK," then directed the driver to roll up the window. The bus then drove off.
An NFL spokesman said the league will look into Williams' accusation.
As Williams recounted the exchange after the game, several teammates shouted at him to stop, including receiver Pierre Garcon. But after he was done, Williams said he didn't care if he was fined.
"This is a players' league," Williams said after the team's 24-16 loss. "I don't think there's no room for that, to take that from the team and the refs. It's very unprofessional. It sucks. I'm at a loss of words. You never expect that as a player to have to beef with the refs also."
Williams wasn't sure why Ellison made the comment. When asked if he had been complaining about calls, Williams said, "I never disrespected him like he disrespected me."
The Redskins were called for four penalties; Philadelphia had nine. Some members of the Redskins' interior offensive line were wearing microphones for NFL Films, so there's a chance the exchange was recorded.
Several players corroborated Williams' account.
"I've never heard anything like that before in my life," Redskins guard Kory Lichtensteiger said. "I don't know what it was, but that guy came out with some kind of vendetta. I don't have a lot else to say, but I heard that comment."
Williams remained upset about the exchange as his voice could be heard from the showers. He said he does not care if people think he's trying to blame the officials for the Redskins' loss.
"You can say whatever you want to say," Williams said. "I'm telling you the truth."
This isn't the first time a Redskins player has had a problem with an official in recent seasons.
Last year, cornerback DeAngelo Hall was ejected from the Pittsburgh Steelers game after taking off his helmet and berating head linesman Dana McKenzie. Hall later said the official was "was equally at fault."