Tennessee Titans receiver Nate Washington called out New Orleans safety Roman Harper, who had two personal foul penalties in Sunday's 22-17 Saints victory, labeling him a dirty player.
Harper had a helmet-to-helmet hit on Matt Hasselbeck in the first half, but it was his touchdown-saving facemask penalty on Titans receiver Damian Williams and some alleged extra-curricular activity after the play that drew Washington's ire.
Williams caught a short pass in the flat from quarterback Jake Locker, made a defender miss and probably would have scored had Harper not dragged him down by the facemask after a 54-yard gain. Tennessee scored a TD on the drive when Locker ran in from 6 yards out.
Washington took exception to Harper after the catch and got in Harper's face after the play.
“Honestly, he's a dirty player. I've been watching him. We watched film on him. He's dirty, and I don't appreciate it,” Washington said. “I'm going to step out in public and say it – he's dirty. That was dirty, what he did. It was unfortunate that he grabbed the facemask. And at the same time, you don't walk over a guy and nudge him with your knee. You don't do that. That's dirty. Honestly, that's a dirty player. This is not just one game. He's been doing it all season. I'm tired of it. I hope the league does something about it.”
Washngton said Titans coaches had warned them about the Saints and Harper in particular.
“Our coach told us all week that they're gonna be chippy, and they're gonna be dirty. And he's the main player they were talking about. He's been doing this all year, and I hope he gets reprimanded for it,” Washington said.
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