Burfict blasts NFL over suspension: Goodell 'was a total b----'
Warning: Story contains coarse language
Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict blasted commissioner Roger Goodell in his first public comments about his season-long suspension, letting it be known that he wasn't impressed with Goodell after meeting with him during his appeal process in October.
"I met Roger Goodell in New York and he was a total b----," Burfict said, according to The Athletic's Vic Tafur. "He was a b----. He didn't let anybody speak, he rushed us in and out of the meeting. The meeting was bullshit. He already had the suspension in his hand."
Burfict was suspended for the rest of the season after a helmet-to-helmet hit against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4.
The 29-year-old linebacker isn't the only notable name banned for the rest of the year, though, as Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett received a season-long suspension Friday for pulling off Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph's helmet and hitting him in the head with it.
However, Burfict is rejecting any comparisons between himself and Garrett. He even said he turned off the television while watching Thursday night's game with his daughters after Garrett hit Rudolph.
"I don't want them to see that," Burfict said. "Because that's not what I do. That's not part of football. I hit people on the field during the game. And they say that's dirty, yeah, whatever. I get hit, too, during the games, so don't complain. It's football, bro."
Despite Burfict's suspension, he made it clear that it'll take a lot more than his current ban to keep him out of the league next season.
"Yeah, I'm coming back," he said. "The NFL can't kick me out like that. They are going to have to kill me. I am too strong for that. ...
"I didn't do shit wrong, I hit a tight end. It could have been a fine, whoop-de-doo. But there's people out there assaulting people with helmets. That's an assault with a deadly weapon."
Garrett's suspension of at least six games is the second-longest ban for on-field behavior in NFL history, behind only Burfict’s 12-game suspension, according to ESPN's Field Yates.