Fight club: Romanowski sends Raider to hospital
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Oakland Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski was suspended from Monday's practice and fined an undisclosed amount after punching and seriously injuring teammate Marcus Williams during a fight in practice a day earlier.
Williams' left orbital bone was broken and his nose was injured, according to coach Bill Callahan.
Williams, who was a 14-game backup last year, will be sidelined four-to-six weeks, which puts the Raiders in position of reaching an injury settlement with him, ESPN's John Clayton reports. Williams is scheduled to make a base salary of $300,000.
Though Williams reportedly called Alameda police after the incident, no criminal charges have been filed over the scuffle, which occurred during a practice drill. Callahan doesn't expect charges to be pressed.
"It doesn't matter who it is,'' Callahan said. "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.''
Williams underwent several tests at a local hospital before being released Sunday night. His agent, Lee Kalligian, didn't immediately return several phone calls from The Associated Press.
Callahan met with Romanowski on Monday night after practice. Romanowski didn't speak with reporters as he drove up to the team's training complex.
Romanowski is entering 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 played in 240 consecutive regular-season games.
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.
Williams is in his second year with Oakland after playing in 13 games as an undrafted free agent last season. He played primarily on special teams last season, but was trying to earn a more regular position this year.
"I talked about fighting on the first day of training camp,'' Callahan said. "It's an intolerable offense. I think everybody understands how I feel. I'm really disappointed. It was really an unfortunate incident that kind of took the edge off practice.''
