Homonowski almost cried!!!

[OmegaRed]

I hope they make him pay out the ass.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-raiderstrial&prov=ap&type=lgns


Romanowski nearly cries on witness stand

By DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer
March 8, 2005

AP - Feb 28, 8:35 pm EST
More Photos


OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Retired Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski nearly came to tears on the witness stand Tuesday as he explained the difficulty of being a family man and somebody who plays a ``violent, violent game.''

He said he will soon publish ``Romo: My Jekyll and Hyde Life,'' which speaks of him being a ``mild-mannered guy off the field and you play this violent sport with a lot of hitting out on the football field.''

Romanowski, who played 16 years in the NFL, is the defendant in a civil trial on an accusation he punched tight end Marcus Williams during practice, ending the 27-year-old's short-lived NFL career and causing brain damage when his eye socket was crushed.

Williams is seeking millions of dollars in damages from Romanowski, saying the Aug. 24, 2003, blow was out-of-bounds behavior even in the gladiator-like sport of football.

Romanowski, 38, told jurors he did punch Williams in the face, but did not remember much more about the fight.

``There was a fight that broke out,'' he said. ``My reaction was a reaction from being pushed in the back.''

Williams, who was in his second season with the team, is seeking damages for alleged battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Raiders have claimed they are not responsible for any damages in the incident and fined Romanowski $60,000. Romanowski was not charged with a crime.

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The attack occurred after Williams blocked Romanowski during practice. After the play, Romanowski came up to Williams from behind, tore off his teammate's helmet and socked him, according to Williams.

Ryan Prince testified last week that he and Williams were backup players trying to make the team when the incident happened. He said Romanowski punched Williams twice, first knocking off Williams' helmet before delivering the second blow.

After he regained his composure in the courtroom, Romanowski said Williams' helmet came off ``as I connected with a punch.''

Romanowski, a married father of two, is known for fanatical behavior during his career and has been fined more than $100,000 for headbutting, headkicking and spearing.

The Raiders have long been known as the bad boys of the NFL, and they seemed to start spinning out of control following the fight between Romanowski and Williams. The team was coming off an embarrassing 48-21 Super Bowl loss and headed into a 4-12 season, the worst collapse in NFL history for a team that had just played for the title.

Romanowski, released by the Raiders last March after failing a physical, has a long history of 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.

Williams played in 13 games as an undrafted free agent as a rookie during the team's Super Bowl season. He was used primarily on special teams but was trying to earn a regular position before the injury.



Updated on Tuesday, Mar 8, 2005 8:07 pm EST

[BIG_DADDY]

Give him a mill and tell him to STFU. That's more money than he ever would have made anyway.

[InChiefsHeaven]

This guy is the biggest POS ever! God I hated his guts, and I'm glad to see his stoned roided out ass gone. Good riddence, and I hope the kid takes him for every freakin penny he's got.

[KCWolfman]

Romo retired at 37, he took the career of a man at 27.

Seems to me he should pay for 10 NFL seasons for Williams career.

[BIG_DADDY]

Romo retired at 37, he took the career of a man at 27.

Seems to me he should pay for 10 NFL seasons for Williams career.

You would, the guy wasn't anything and never will be. Hopefully Romanowski got most of his assets offshore so they can't touch shit. 1 mill is more than enough.

[Rausch]

You would, the guy wasn't anything and never will be. Hopefully Romanowski got most of his assets offshore so they can't touch shit. 1 mill is more than enough.

Romo's a piece of $3it.

I don't care if the fight even happened, I still hope the guy takes all his money. Then pushes his ass out in traffic...

[KCWolfman]

You would, the guy wasn't anything and never will be. Hopefully Romanowski got most of his assets offshore so they can't touch shit. 1 mill is more than enough.
Even if the guy played for only 3 more seasons, he would have exceeded well over 1 mil at league minimum. At the very least Romo should be required to pay off his contract.

What he did was inexcusable and his track record proves him out.

[Thig Lyfe]

What a jerk.

[InChiefsHeaven]

You would, the guy wasn't anything and never will be. Hopefully Romanowski got most of his assets offshore so they can't touch shit. 1 mill is more than enough.

Wow dude, are you like a closet Faganowski fan? Fug that prick!

[BIG_DADDY]

Romo's a piece of $3it.

I don't care if the fight even happened, I still hope the guy takes all his money. Then pushes his ass out in traffic...

Romanowski was a player I loved to hate. Like many other players I loved to hate I may not wish for him to be blessed by the heavens above but I certtainly don't wish for them to lose all their money to a no name wussified gold diggin beeotch either.

[BIG_DADDY]

Wow dude, are you like a closet Faganowski fan? Fug that prick!

He was a great player just on the wrong team. Watched him for years out here in SF causing havoc. I really enjoyed watching the guy play and was pissed when he went to the Donx and then the Raiders. No love for the guy but I don't wish him fatally shot either.

[InChiefsHeaven]

Romanowski was a player I loved to hate. Like many other players I loved to hate I may not wish for him to be blessed by the heavens above but I certtainly don't wish for them to lose all their money to a no name wussified gold diggin beeotch either.

I don't know man. Crushed skull, brain damage...seems like Homo's shitty ways finally caught up to him. I hope he pays big time. He's been fined a ton, but actually ending some dudes career in practice because he blocked you? Guy's a dick, deserves whatever bad happens to him.

[KCWolfman]

Romanowski was a player I loved to hate. Like many other players I loved to hate I may not wish for him to be blessed by the heavens above but I certtainly don't wish for them to lose all their money to a no name wussified gold diggin beeotch either.
I am willing to bet that if someone deliberately beat you to where you could no longer do your lifetime career, you wouldn't consider yourself a gold-digging beotch for demanding they compensate you for your loss.

[KCWolfman]

I don't know man. Crushed skull, brain damage...seems like Homo's shitty ways finally caught up to him. I hope he pays big time. He's been fined a ton, but actually ending some dudes career in practice because he blocked you? Guy's a dick, deserves whatever bad happens to him.
60,000 is not a ton when you end the career of another person.

[Rausch]

Romanowski was a player I loved to hate. Like many other players I loved to hate I may not wish for him to be blessed by the heavens above but I certtainly don't wish for them to lose all their money to a no name wussified gold diggin beeotch either.

As opposed to the guy who broke down in public and sobbed like a ****ing schoolgirl?...

[BIG_DADDY]

I don't know man. Crushed skull, brain damage...seems like Homo's shitty ways finally caught up to him. I hope he pays big time. He's been fined a ton, but actually ending some dudes career in practice because he blocked you? Guy's a dick, deserves whatever bad happens to him.

The fact that he did it with his fist is just amazing. Like I said a mill should do it, certainly no more than two. From what I understand that guy wasn't even close to making it on the team and he hit him in the back after the play. If your a rookie you just don't do that. There are a lot of ol veterans in the league that would fire you up for that. THey are starters with millions on the line and they don't need some no name hitting them in the back in camp. I think most people here are letting their hatred for him being a Donk get the best of him. If one of our linebackers had done that you wouldn't wish that on them. Hell I remember people laughing on this BB at the Tait incident.

[PastorMikH]

First thing that came to my mind when I saw the thread title was, "Did he get maced?"

[BIG_DADDY]

I am willing to bet that if someone deliberately beat you to where you could no longer do your lifetime career, you wouldn't consider yourself a gold-digging beotch for demanding they compensate you for your loss.

First of all I would hope I was smart enough to not be the rookie going around hitting veterans in the back after the play during camp. That being said the papers here said he never had a chance of making the team. Maybe his dream would someday be realized maybe not. Like I said 1-2 mill should do it, no more.

[BIG_DADDY]

As opposed to the guy who broke down in public and sobbed like a ****ing schoolgirl?...

You would cry too if you were about to lose millions.

[Rausch]

You would cry too if you were about to lose millions.

Not if I had millions more left.

And losing money doesn't make me cry, it makes me pissed off.

[BIG_DADDY]

Not if I had millions more left.

And losing money doesn't make me cry, it makes me pissed off.

Well I don't like losing millions to anyone irregardless of how it's handled. The guy was one tough bad mother ****er on the field though. Like I said earlier I enjoyed watching him play as 49er and I hated watching him play us as a Donk. The guy seemed like he was all over the field at the same time. To me the true measure of a warrior is what he does in battle and not if he comes close to crying in the courtroom. Even if he did cry like a schoolgirl like you posted "and that isn't the case" you can't deny the guy had serious game.

[Taco John]

I don't know what happened to him. He put on a Raider uniform, and all of a sudden became a cheap shot bastage...

[Rausch]

Even if he did cry like a schoolgirl like you posted "and that isn't the case" you can't deny the guy had serious game.

I'm not denying he was a good LB. He was.

But he was also a POS. Had he cracked some dude's skull on the field, I wouldn't have a thing to say about it. It's your job to knock a guy's head off.

But Romo, the person, is a POS. No two ways about it. Plus, he was not only a Bronco, but a RAIDER.

Right there, no sympathy for you...

[Rausch]

I don't know what happened to him. He put on a Raider uniform, and all of a sudden became a cheap shot bastage...

:spock:

[Ultra Peanut]

<img src="http://sportsforum.ws/duk/temarcuswilliamsoak.jpg" style="width: 358px; height: 432px; border: 0" alt="" />

"Don't mumbmlembfmmffff tohff hihsfhf faffhfcse."

[KCWolfman]

First of all I would hope I was smart enough to not be the rookie going around hitting veterans in the back after the play during camp. That being said the papers here said he never had a chance of making the team. Maybe his dream would someday be realized maybe not. Like I said 1-2 mill should do it, no more.
He wasn't a rookie, it was his second season and he already had a contract signed.

Marcus Williams (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?statsId=6261)

His ability to play or not play is not in question. His contract was stolen from him by Romanowski.

[Rausch]

<img src="http://sportsforum.ws/duk/temarcuswilliamsoak.jpg" style="width: 358px; height: 432px; border: 0" alt="" />

"Don't mumbmlembfmmffff tohff hihsfhf faffhfcse."

You know you want to....type the letters Psi, type the letters...

[BIG_DADDY]

He wasn't a rookie, it was his second season and he already had a contract signed.

Marcus Williams (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?statsId=6261)

His ability to play or not play is not in question. His contract was stolen from him by Romanowski.

Dude he never played. just because they signed him to the backup squad doesn't make him a player. 1 Million is more than he ever would have made, call it a gift.

[BIG_DADDY]

<img src="http://sportsforum.ws/duk/temarcuswilliamsoak.jpg" style="width: 358px; height: 432px; border: 0" alt="" />

"Don't mumbmlembfmmffff tohff hihsfhf faffhfcse."

Dude it's just a scratch come on. If that ended his career he never had one. The local paper said he would never make the club, I guess they meant would never leave the practice squad Russ.

[KCWolfman]

Dude he never played. just because they signed him to the backup squad doesn't make him a player. 1 Million is more than he ever would have made, call it a gift.
He wasn't a rookie. He wasn't on the practice squad. He was an active player. He played in 14 games and already had a contract signed.

Romanowski stole that contract from him when he broke his eye socket.

[mcan]

What do you mean he would never make a million? The minimum salary for freaking rookies in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. All he had to do was make the team and ride the pine for a couple years and the vet minimum salary is like 400K a year! To add to that, he was assaulted by a man after the play, and now he has BRAIN DAMAGE! I don't care what the fuc$ job I had or what my expected income was, if someone gives me any type of brain damage, then they owe me a whole hell of a lot more than a million dollars...

I'd say... 1.3 million... Final offer. :harumph: :p

[Demonpenz]

You mess with the bull, you get the horns.

[InChiefsHeaven]

I don't know what happened to him. He put on a Raider uniform, and all of a sudden became a cheap shot bastage...

ROFL ROFL ROFL He was such an angel right up to that point...

[Taco John]

ROFL ROFL ROFL He was such an angel right up to that point...



Model citizen. Then he goes and puts on a Raiders Jersey, and goes south quickly!

[DanT]

He wasn't a rookie. He wasn't on the practice squad. He was an active player. He played in 14 games and already had a contract signed.



Exactly. He even started a game in 2002, according to nfl.com, that last regular season game for the Chiefs, when we lost 24-0 to the Raiders. According to the news accounts, he played in 14 games, primarily as a blocker and on special teams. Note that in the drill leading up to the attack, Marcus Williams was blocking Bill Romonowski.
Here's Marcus Williams' NFL.COM page, which includes links to his game logs:
http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/237006


http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/OAK/6594331

Romanowski apologizes to Williams, 'mates

NFL.com wire reports

ALAMEDA, Calif. (Aug. 26, 2003) -- Two days after Bill Romanowski seriously injured teammate Marcus Williams during a fight in practice, the Oakland Raiders' controversial linebacker was remorseful and apologetic.

"I hold myself accountable," Romanowski said. "It was a classless move by me."

Romanowski ripped off Williams' helmet and punched the reserve tight end in the face, breaking his left orbital bone and chipping his tooth. The fight came at the end of a running play during a 9-on-7 drill Aug. 24.

Williams, a second-year pro who played mostly on special teams last season, was taken to a local hospital for a series of tests. He saw an eye specialist Aug. 25 and was told to rest at home for a week until the swelling goes down, but Williams still has double vision.

While trimming their roster, the Raiders placed Williams on injured reserve, ending his season.


Source for claim that he was "primarily a blocker" (http://www.thehometownchannel.com/nfl/2592916/detail.html)

Playing 14 NFL games puts a football player in fairly exclusive company relative to all the folks who were good enough to play Division 1 College Football.

[Rain Man]

I hope he has to pay everything he ever earned, and then become Williams' butler.

He continues his legacy of being a classless jerk by trying to blame others for his own behavior.

[BIG_DADDY]

He wasn't a rookie. He wasn't on the practice squad. He was an active player. He played in 14 games and already had a contract signed.

Romanowski stole that contract from him when he broke his eye socket.

The guy had zero yards dude, zero. He was a nobody. Any TE with no yards in the NFL is a nobody. If your a newbie you shouldn't go hitting your star players in the back after the play. I am sure he will have to pay but saying he needs to pay for a 10 years in the NFL just because that's how long Romanowski played is ridiculous.

[Rain Man]

How many yards did Brett Favre throw for in his first season, Big Daddy? How many yards did Priest Holmes run for? You never know how a guy's career will progress.

[BIG_DADDY]

How many yards did Brett Favre throw for in his first season, Big Daddy? How many yards did Priest Holmes run for? You never know how a guy's career will progress.

How many fights did they pick by hitting starters in the back after the play in camp? What are the chances he would become a BV or PH? You gotta be real here.

[Ultra Peanut]

The guy had zero yards dude, zero. He was a nobody. Any TE with no yards in the NFL is a nobody.

Marcus Pollard
Position: TE
Height: 6-3
Weight: 247
Born: 02/08/1972
College: Bradley
NFL Experience: 10

RECEIVING
Year Team G GS No Yards Avg Lg TD 20+ 40+ FD
1995 Indianapolis Colts 8 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0 0 0
1996 Indianapolis Colts 16 4 6 86 14.3 48 1 1 1 4
1997 Indianapolis Colts 16 6 10 116 11.6 28 0 1 0 8
1998 Indianapolis Colts 16 11 24 309 12.9 44 4 4 1 16
1999 Indianapolis Colts 16 12 34 374 11.0 33 4 5 0 18
2000 Indianapolis Colts 16 14 30 439 14.6 50 3 8 1 18
2001 Indianapolis Colts 16 16 47 739 15.7 86 8 14 2 34
2002 Indianapolis Colts 15 15 43 478 11.1 41 6 6 2 21
2003 Indianapolis Colts 14 13 40 541 13.5 70 3 5 2 25
2004 Indianapolis Colts 13 13 29 309 10.7 31 6 3 0 17
TOTAL 146 104 263 3391 12.9 86 35 47 9 161

[Rain Man]

How many fights did they pick by hitting starters in the back after the play in camp? What are the chances he would become a BV or PH? You gotta be real here.

The odds are small, but they're there. Williams' side will argue that he would've been one of those, and Roidanowski's side can't refute it because they destroyed the guy's career.

Truthfully, what'll probably happen is that they'll figure out an amount that figures in a 1% likelihood of a Tony Gonzalez-like career, a 20% likelihood of a Ken Dilger-like career, a 30% likelihood of a Keith Cash-like career, and a 49% likelihood of a short scrub-like career. That's probably the fair way, anyway.

[redbrian]

I don't know what happened to him. He put on a Raider uniform, and all of a sudden became a cheap shot bastage...

ROFL Oh god thats priceless, a donko never took a cheap shot ever.
Pull your head out of the donkeys butt, your brain needs a little air.

[morphius]

The guy had zero yards dude, zero. He was a nobody. Any TE with no yards in the NFL is a nobody. If your a newbie you shouldn't go hitting your star players in the back after the play. I am sure he will have to pay but saying he needs to pay for a 10 years in the NFL just because that's how long Romanowski played is ridiculous.
Which part of blocking TE did you misunderstand?

[DanT]

I haven't seen any news accounts that support the claim that Marcus Williams blocked Bill Romanowski in the back. The San Francisco Chronicle offered the following account from one of the witnesses:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/02/ROMO.TMP&type=printable

A former Oakland Raiders receiver told a jury Tuesday how star linebacker Bill Romanowski "crushed" the face of teammate Marcus Williams with a sudden uppercut when an Aug. 24, 2003, practice-field scuffle turned violent.

"Marcus and Bill had grips on each others' facemasks, starting some conflict," Ryan Prince, who played briefly with the Raiders in 2003, testified in the first day of the trial of Williams' personal-injury lawsuit against Romanowski.

Suddenly, he said, Williams' helmet came flying off, and "Marcus caught a right" uppercut from a "furious" Romanowski.

The blow "just crushed Marcus' face," Prince told the Alameda County Superior Court jury. "It sounded gross - a really unnatural sound, and Marcus dropped - he was out. Bill is over the top of him, screaming, 'Don't you ever f -- hold me! Don't you ever f -- touch me!' "

Williams, he said, "didn't make a sound for a good period of time."

Prince said the incident had occurred during an unusual full-tilt practice held two days after the Raiders had been whipped in a preseason game by the Minnesota Vikings.

Williams, a tight end, was blocking Romanowski on a practice running play, said Prince, who watched with a group of receivers. The two players began mixing it up after the play ended, he said.

Although football is a rough game, Prince indicated the incident was the most violent he had seen in his four-year career as a special-teams player on four NFL teams.

"I've never seen that, never," said Prince, now a pharmaceuticals salesman in Utah.


Here's the account from the Contra Costa Times, another local paper:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/11024343.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Posted on Tue, Mar. 01, 2005


Witness says Romanowski delivered a 'serious punch' to Williams

By Ivan Delventhal
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

OAKLAND - Witness testimony begin this afternoon in the trial of a lawsuit filed against former Oakland Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski by an ex-teammate injured during by a practice-field punch.

The plaintiff in the suit, 27-year-old Marcus Williams, accuses Romanowski of snuffing out his promising National Football League career with the uppercut on Aug. 24, 2003. Williams' complaint alleges battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Williams' first witness of the trial was Ryan Prince, a former NFL tight end and special teams player who on the practice field, trying to make the team, on the day in question.

Prince, 26, who now works as a pharmaceutical company representative, testified this afternoon that as the practice play ended he saw Romanowski shove Williams' helmet off his head then deliver an uppercut to his face.

"It just crunched Marcus' face -- it was a serious punch," Prince testified, explaining that he was standing about 40 yards away at the time. "It sounded gross. It was a real unnatural, gross sound. Marcus dropped. He was out.''

In his opening statement in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland this morning, James Brosnahan, Williams' lead attorney, walked the 12-person jury through his description of the incident that occurred during the Raiders training camp in Alameda. Romanowski and Williams were both present in court.

"This is a case about brutal violence beyond the rules of football that took Mr. Marcus Williams. . . out of that game," said Brosnahan, who added that his client had tried unsuccessfully to return to pro ball.

Defense attorneys countered later in the morning that the punch occurred during mutual combat and that Williams was simply looking for a payday.

Jeffrey Springer, Romanowski's Denver-based attorney, said the case boiled down to one essential thing: Marcus Williams looking for a windfall.

"This case is about a payday," Springer told the jury.In his opening statement, he described the practice field incident as one of "mutual accountability for mutual combat."

On the practice play in question, Williams, a 6-feet-4-inch, 240-pound tight end and former Berkeley High School star, had been assigned to block Romanowski.

At the end of the running play, as Williams was walking away to receive instructions for the next play, Romanowski shoved Williams from behind, Brosnahan told the jury.

When Williams turned around, Romanowski yanked off his helmet and delivered a crunching uppercut to Williams' eye, the attorney said.

Brosnahan said the blow broke the orbital bone around Williams' left eye, and pushed his eye back toward his brain. The attorney said his client had suffered a host of ailments including post-traumatic stress disorder, flashbacks, and depression as a result of the punch.

To bolster his claim, Brosnahan screened for the jury a video of the practice play preceding the punch. The video, however, cuts out as Romanowski and Williams reach the sideline and appear to separate and before the few moments that are at issue in the trial.

Brosnahan told jurors he would be asking them to award damages to compensate Williams for lost income and medical expenses as well for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, disfigurement and loss of enjoyment of life. Court papers filed after a case management conference last year suggested Williams was seeking more than $3.8 million.

Seeking to counter the highlight clips shown by Brosnahan that showed some of Williams' exploits in high school, college and the NFL, Springer cast the player as an undrafted, uncommitted, journeyman player who had very limited playing time during a year with the Raiders.

He described it as a "one-punch incident that took place in the violent world of professional football at a carefully orchestrated practice."

"Marcus Williams locked up with a bull, Bill Romanowski, he knew it, they struggled ... and one of them took a punch first, and that was Bill Romanowski," Springer said.

Springer said the punch had broken a "paper thin bone" near Williams' eye. He denied that the blow caused a brain injury, saying that CT scans cited by the plaintiffs as proof of the trauma actually show nothing more than evidence of marijuana use.

While Brosnahan had sought to introduce evidence of alleged steroid use by Romanowski during the trial, the judge ruled that such evidence would not be allowed unless the plaintiff could show what Romanowski's level's of steroids were on the day of the alleged battery. There was no mention of steroids during opening statements.

[Rain Man]

While Brosnahan had sought to introduce evidence of alleged steroid use by Romanowski during the trial, the judge ruled that such evidence would not be allowed unless the plaintiff could show what Romanowski's level's of steroids were on the day of the alleged battery. There was no mention of steroids during opening statements.


That's ludicrous. The defendant has a decade-plus history of taking a drug that makes you prone to irrational anger, and the judge thinks it shouldn't be taken into consideration?

[DanT]

The defense strategy is laughable. Every wage-earner in America is "looking for a payday". If you earn something, you deserve to get paid. If you have something taken from you, you should be "looking for" compensation.

[DanT]

That's ludicrous. The defendant has a decade-plus history of taking a drug that makes you prone to irrational anger, and the judge thinks it shouldn't be taken into consideration?

I thought it was the defendants who try to bring up how many Twinkies they ate? Why would the plaintiff care if Romanowski was taking steroids or not? The fact that a wrong had been committed is decidable on what actually happened, isn't it? The wrong isn't that Bill Romanowski behaved in a manner that increased his propensity for violence; it's that he punched another player in the face, depriving him of a chance to compete for a highly-paid position that he had held only the year before.

[BIG_DADDY]

I haven't seen any news accounts that support the claim that Marcus Williams blocked Bill Romanowski in the back. The San Francisco Chronicle offered the following account from one of the witnesses:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/02/ROMO.TMP&type=printable

A former Oakland Raiders receiver told a jury Tuesday how star linebacker Bill Romanowski "crushed" the face of teammate Marcus Williams with a sudden uppercut when an Aug. 24, 2003, practice-field scuffle turned violent.

"Marcus and Bill had grips on each others' facemasks, starting some conflict," Ryan Prince, who played briefly with the Raiders in 2003, testified in the first day of the trial of Williams' personal-injury lawsuit against Romanowski.

Suddenly, he said, Williams' helmet came flying off, and "Marcus caught a right" uppercut from a "furious" Romanowski.

The blow "just crushed Marcus' face," Prince told the Alameda County Superior Court jury. "It sounded gross - a really unnatural sound, and Marcus dropped - he was out. Bill is over the top of him, screaming, 'Don't you ever f -- hold me! Don't you ever f -- touch me!' "

Williams, he said, "didn't make a sound for a good period of time."

Prince said the incident had occurred during an unusual full-tilt practice held two days after the Raiders had been whipped in a preseason game by the Minnesota Vikings.

Williams, a tight end, was blocking Romanowski on a practice running play, said Prince, who watched with a group of receivers. The two players began mixing it up after the play ended, he said.

Although football is a rough game, Prince indicated the incident was the most violent he had seen in his four-year career as a special-teams player on four NFL teams.

"I've never seen that, never," said Prince, now a pharmaceuticals salesman in Utah.


Here's the account from the Contra Costa Times, another local paper:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/11024343.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Posted on Tue, Mar. 01, 2005


Witness says Romanowski delivered a 'serious punch' to Williams

By Ivan Delventhal
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

OAKLAND - Witness testimony begin this afternoon in the trial of a lawsuit filed against former Oakland Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski by an ex-teammate injured during by a practice-field punch.

The plaintiff in the suit, 27-year-old Marcus Williams, accuses Romanowski of snuffing out his promising National Football League career with the uppercut on Aug. 24, 2003. Williams' complaint alleges battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Williams' first witness of the trial was Ryan Prince, a former NFL tight end and special teams player who on the practice field, trying to make the team, on the day in question.

Prince, 26, who now works as a pharmaceutical company representative, testified this afternoon that as the practice play ended he saw Romanowski shove Williams' helmet off his head then deliver an uppercut to his face.

"It just crunched Marcus' face -- it was a serious punch," Prince testified, explaining that he was standing about 40 yards away at the time. "It sounded gross. It was a real unnatural, gross sound. Marcus dropped. He was out.''

In his opening statement in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland this morning, James Brosnahan, Williams' lead attorney, walked the 12-person jury through his description of the incident that occurred during the Raiders training camp in Alameda. Romanowski and Williams were both present in court.

"This is a case about brutal violence beyond the rules of football that took Mr. Marcus Williams. . . out of that game," said Brosnahan, who added that his client had tried unsuccessfully to return to pro ball.

Defense attorneys countered later in the morning that the punch occurred during mutual combat and that Williams was simply looking for a payday.

Jeffrey Springer, Romanowski's Denver-based attorney, said the case boiled down to one essential thing: Marcus Williams looking for a windfall.

"This case is about a payday," Springer told the jury.In his opening statement, he described the practice field incident as one of "mutual accountability for mutual combat."

On the practice play in question, Williams, a 6-feet-4-inch, 240-pound tight end and former Berkeley High School star, had been assigned to block Romanowski.

At the end of the running play, as Williams was walking away to receive instructions for the next play, Romanowski shoved Williams from behind, Brosnahan told the jury.

When Williams turned around, Romanowski yanked off his helmet and delivered a crunching uppercut to Williams' eye, the attorney said.

Brosnahan said the blow broke the orbital bone around Williams' left eye, and pushed his eye back toward his brain. The attorney said his client had suffered a host of ailments including post-traumatic stress disorder, flashbacks, and depression as a result of the punch.

To bolster his claim, Brosnahan screened for the jury a video of the practice play preceding the punch. The video, however, cuts out as Romanowski and Williams reach the sideline and appear to separate and before the few moments that are at issue in the trial.

Brosnahan told jurors he would be asking them to award damages to compensate Williams for lost income and medical expenses as well for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, disfigurement and loss of enjoyment of life. Court papers filed after a case management conference last year suggested Williams was seeking more than $3.8 million.

Seeking to counter the highlight clips shown by Brosnahan that showed some of Williams' exploits in high school, college and the NFL, Springer cast the player as an undrafted, uncommitted, journeyman player who had very limited playing time during a year with the Raiders.

He described it as a "one-punch incident that took place in the violent world of professional football at a carefully orchestrated practice."

"Marcus Williams locked up with a bull, Bill Romanowski, he knew it, they struggled ... and one of them took a punch first, and that was Bill Romanowski," Springer said.

Springer said the punch had broken a "paper thin bone" near Williams' eye. He denied that the blow caused a brain injury, saying that CT scans cited by the plaintiffs as proof of the trauma actually show nothing more than evidence of marijuana use.

While Brosnahan had sought to introduce evidence of alleged steroid use by Romanowski during the trial, the judge ruled that such evidence would not be allowed unless the plaintiff could show what Romanowski's level's of steroids were on the day of the alleged battery. There was no mention of steroids during opening statements.

I thought it was the defendants who try to bring up how many Twinkies they ate? Why would the plaintiff care if Romanowski was taking steroids or not? The fact that a wrong had been committed is decidable on what actually happened, isn't it? The wrong isn't that Bill Romanowski behaved in a manner that increased his propensity for violence; it's that he punched another player in the face, depriving him of a chance to compete for a highly-paid position that he had held only the year before.

Well Romanowski was saying a fight broke out and he was shoved in the back. I seem to remember hearing he got hit in the back on KNBR as well as hearing the guy didn't have much talent and wasn't expected to play much anyway. I have never seen the footage so it is hard for me to formulate an objective opinion to be fair. If they were locked onto each others face mask obviously a fight was on. I know we have become a country that wants to punish the winner and reward the loser like every area of our lives the government regulates but I don't agree. Mr. Nobody needs to accept his role in all of this too which everyone else seems to want to ignore because he was the loser. A serious punch? ROFL Was there ever any other kind? When will the media get off this steroid kick too, it's really getting old.

[Rain Man]

I thought it was the defendants who try to bring up how many Twinkies they ate? Why would the plaintiff care if Romanowski was taking steroids or not? The fact that a wrong had been committed is decidable on what actually happened, isn't it? The wrong isn't that Bill Romanowski behaved in a manner that increased his propensity for violence; it's that he punched another player in the face, depriving him of a chance to compete for a highly-paid position that he had held only the year before.

That's a good point. I wonder if they're doing it because the defense is going to claim that 'football is a violent sport and these things happen,' so the prosecution is going to counter it with a claim that 'this guy is violent beyond the sport, and one of the reasons is because he's willingly making himself more violent.'

The prosecution should just show a bunch of tapes of Tony Gonzalez running routes against Felonowski compared to against legitimate linebackers. For that matter, maybe Tony should sue him, too.

[BIG_DADDY]

The prosecution should just show a bunch of tapes of Tony Gonzalez running routes against Felonowski compared to against legitimate linebackers. For that matter, maybe Tony should sue him, too.

ROFL

[InChiefsHeaven]

3.8 mil seems fine. It's better than the "Ooops, sorry dude, it's football" defense. This is not football. This is thuggery at its finest. If your career is ended by a legit injury, that sucks bad enough. But if you career is ended because you blocked a roided out psychopath who was losing a step and probably needed to prove otherwise, well, I say you make the stinkin' bastage pay...Seriously, even if the kid was out of line, a veteran should be able to take care of him legit on the next play. Unless the veteran in question is a fuggin' animal like Fagonowski...

[BIG_DADDY]

3.8 mil seems fine. It's better than the "Ooops, sorry dude, it's football" defense. This is not football. This is thuggery at its finest. If your career is ended by a legit injury, that sucks bad enough. But if you career is ended because you blocked a roided out psychopath who was losing a step and probably needed to prove otherwise, well, I say you make the stinkin' bastage pay...Seriously, even if the kid was out of line, a veteran should be able to take care of him legit on the next play. Unless the veteran in question is a fuggin' animal like Fagonowski...

That's one way to look at it and then there's the "you engaged in a fight with an ageing starter and he still wooped your ass like a little bitch so you probably deserve what you got theory too. I know a lot of Raider fans out here. Nobody even knew who he was. That injury will not be taxed either. 1 mill is fine. He never has to work again.

[InChiefsHeaven]

That's one way to look at it and then there's the "you engaged in a fight with an ageing starter and he still wooped your ass like a little bitch so you probably deserve what you got theory too. I know a lot of Raider fans out here. Nobody even knew who he was. That injury will not be taxed either. 1 mill is fine. He never has to work again.
At the end of the running play, as Williams was walking away to receive instructions for the next play, Romanowski shoved Williams from behind, Brosnahan told the jury.

When Williams turned around, Romanowski yanked off his helmet and delivered a crunching uppercut to Williams' eye, the attorney said.

Definition of cheap shot. Again, Romo probably resorted to it because he got handled by a youngun on the play before and this is the only way to retaliate without getting his old ass kicked...he's an ass, dude. He should get no sympathy...

[BIG_DADDY]

Definition of cheap shot. Again, Romo probably resorted to it because he got handled by a youngun on the play before and this is the only way to retaliate without getting his old ass kicked...he's an ass, dude. He should get no sympathy...

I wish we had footage, just a second ago Dan T printed and eye witness account that had them both holding each others facemask. I still remember hearing Romo was the one hit from behind by someone on a local radio station but they probably never saw it. I guess we will never really know. 3 mill is pretty steep, I still don't see him getting that much but you never know with our legal system. That was one hell of a punch, Romo should have done some Ultimate Fighting.

[BIG_DADDY]

Homonowski cried, people died.


I just had to say that.

[DanT]

That's a good point. I wonder if they're doing it because the defense is going to claim that 'football is a violent sport and these things happen,' so the prosecution is going to counter it with a claim that 'this guy is violent beyond the sport, and one of the reasons is because he's willingly making himself more violent.'

Yeah, that makes sense.


The prosecution should just show a bunch of tapes of Tony Gonzalez running routes against Felonowski compared to against legitimate linebackers. For that matter, maybe Tony should sue him, too.

:)

[Wallcrawler]

Romanowski should pay, and pay dearly.


So he got blocked in the back. Big F'ING deal. This is football. It happens all the time. You get clipped, cut, facemasked, dogpiled, whatever.

None of it is an excuse to rip a guys helmet off, and crush his eye socket, and end his career.

Romanowski is a piece of shit, and anyone defending him, and thinking he shouldnt have to be held accountable for his actions just "because Williams probably wouldnt have made the team anyway" is just flat out ignorant.


Williams suffered brain damage, and a crushed eye socket. His NFL career is over, finished. He will NEVER play in the league again due to the actions of Bill Romanowski. I dont know what price should be put on that, but it should be a damn high one.


Bill Romanowski is a piece of shit, and deserves to have someone throw a beatdown on him to damage his small brain and rearrange his facial bone structure, and see how he enjoys it.

[Rausch]

Romanowski should pay, and pay dearly.


So he got blocked in the back. Big F'ING deal. This is football. It happens all the time. You get clipped, cut, facemasked, dogpiled, whatever.

None of it is an excuse to rip a guys helmet off, and crush his eye socket, and end his career.

Romanowski is a piece of shit, and anyone defending him, and thinking he shouldnt have to be held accountable for his actions just "because Williams probably wouldnt have made the team anyway" is just flat out ignorant.


Williams suffered brain damage, and a crushed eye socket. His NFL career is over, finished. He will NEVER play in the league again due to the actions of Bill Romanowski. I dont know what price should be put on that, but it should be a damn high one.


Bill Romanowski is a piece of shit, and deserves to have someone throw a beatdown on him to damage his small brain and rearrange his facial bone structure, and see how he enjoys it.

May he get ass-cancer...

[mikey23545]

Too bad this isn't a criminal trial.

It's much nicer to think of Rock making Homonowski cry in the prison showers....

[Over-Head]

He was a dirty player, but a bad ass on the field I somewhat enjoyed watching to see what his next “trick” was gonna be.
From Spearing Gannon, to spitting on Stokes, he’s made his bed he can lie in it.
Thugs are great when your team is winning, but as soon as a “thug’s” life span is up, their just pieces of trash that should never have been let lose in the first place.
I mean let’s face facts, he’s from Beantown, and played with the Donks, the poor bastage never had a chance to begin with.
He’s been corrupted since birth.