Former Steelers LB Vince Williams Answers Whether He Regrets An Antagonistic Tweet Aimed At Vontaze Burfict After A Cowardly Hit

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the organization that practically invented smash-mouth football. Therefore, if a Steelers player is upset about another team's physicality, there is almost always some validity. For players to be able to muster this kind of constructive aggression during a game, they have to be very passionate. However, at times, that passion isn't well contained and spills over to off-the-field bickering. Not much exemplified this more than the Twitter battle between Vince Williams and Vontaze Burfict.  

When you add a self-proclaimed "quirky sense of humor," some frustration regarding your teammate's safety, and the perception the referees getting it wrong, you brew up a recipe for a nasty Twitter war. That is just what happened with the Steelers for linebacker Williams and his arch-nemesis, Cincinnati Bengals' Burfict in 2015. Now, Williams is speaking up about how he feels about that situation given that nearly eight years have passed.   

What Happened Between the Steelers' Vince Williams And the Bengals' Vontaze Burfict?

It was Week 17 of the 2015 season and the Steelers were playing division rivals, the Bengals. This was during the time when Le'Veon Bell was an unstoppable weapon. Games between any teams in the AFC North are always physical, aggressive, black-and-blue type football. However, Burfict brought something else to the table. It is fair to say if you were a fan of the team he was on, you loved the way he was a bully on the field. But the opponents not only didn't love him, many didn't even respect him. 

Burfict tackled Bell on the sideline, contorting his body and causing an MCL tear. Of course, Burfict said he didn't mean to hurt him, and called it a clean hit. Right... if you believe that he also has some oceanfront property to sell you in Kansas. 

Bell definitely felt it was a dirty hit, he has spoken about the game numerous times and believes that Burfict, and in fact, the majority of the Bengals team, were trying to injure him and other players intentionally. 

After the game was over, Williams was angered by the fact that the Bengals players seem to be celebrating after injuring Bell. Williams wasn't the only player that voiced their concerns over the way the game was played. Steelers offensive guard Ramon Foster also said he felt they were targeting Steelers. 

"I am sure they were aiming to take somebody out today and kudos to them, they did the job."

Regardless of whether the hit was clean or dirty, intentional or unintentional, Williams let his emotions get the best of him. He sent out a bit of a menacing tweet that night, which he quickly took down, but not before Burfict responded. 

Williams's tweeting spree didn't end there. He decided to take another jab at the city of Cincinnati after the gorilla Harambe was shot in a local zoo. Frankly, the threat of violence against Burfict went over better than poking fun at a creature that was killed senselessly. Williams also quickly removed this one, but not before fans voiced their displeasure at the tastelessness of the joke. 

Steelers' Vince Williams Answers The Question of Regret

Williams recently appeared on his former teammate's podcast, Not Just Football with Cam Heyward. Cam Heyward, who is currently a defensive tackle for the Steelers, hosts the show and almost always does a segment called "Regret It Or Not?" He asked Williams about the tweet. 

"Do you regret making a tweet to Vontaze Burfict about, 'If I see that boy on South Beach, I will paint him on site?'"

While the crowd, primarily all Steelers fans, goes wild cheering for Williams' tweet, they are stunned silent by his answer, as is Heyward, who is in disbelief.

"I do regret it now that I'm older now and I'm looking back on it. That was the more emotional Vince. I mean I was mad. I really shouldn't have did it. I wouldn't of sent off a tweet like that now. If I could talk to my younger self, I would look back and say, 'Vince, there's better ways to go about it.'"  

Heyward is surprised and adds that he loves the visual of Williams' head on a Bob Ross body just painting Burfict. Williams also said he wanted to clear up any confusion about what he meant. 

"By the way, I'm from Florida guys, that is Florida jargon for fight. I never meant to shoot stuff, it was just fisticuffs." 

What do you think about all of this? Was Williams out of line at the time? Did his tweets go too far? Do you remember the hit on Bell? Was it a clean hit or not? Click to comment below.

#SteelerNation