Andre Johnson Fight Planned by Finnegan?

By Alex Johnston On November 29, 2010 @ 12:27 pm In NFL | No Comments

Andre Johnson #80 of the Houston Texans is separated by umpire Garth DeFerlice #53 from cornerback Cortland Finnegan #31 of the Tennessee Titans after the two exchanged punches in the fourth quarter at Reliant Stadium on Nov. 28 in Houston, Texas. (Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Andre Johnson #80 of the Houston Texans is separated by umpire Garth DeFerlice #53 from cornerback Cortland Finnegan #31 of the Tennessee Titans after the two exchanged punches in the fourth quarter at Reliant Stadium on Nov. 28 in Houston, Texas. (Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Andre Johnson, the Houston Texans wide receiver, and Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan got into a bit of a mixed-martial arts spat during Sunday’s game, which may have been premeditated by Finnegan, according to a local Houston Fox station.

Johnson and Finnegan both tore each other’s helmets off and Johnson’s fists connected several times with the cornerback’s head. Finnegan started clapping after Johnson’s assault. Both players were ejected, and are now awaiting possible fines and suspensions.

According to the Fox report, Finnegan reportedly told his fellow teammates on the sideline to “watch this” right before getting into the fight.

Video replay footage shows that Finnegan hit Johnson’s facemask, starting the melee.

Johnson apologized to the Texans for his actions.

“I would like to apologize to the organization, our owner, and my teammates. What happened out there today was not me,” he said, according to the Texans website. “I just lost my cool and I wish that I could take back what happened, but I can’t. It’s over and done with now. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be disciplined for it.”

It is up in the air as to whether Johnson will play on Sunday.

“He’s obviously one of our best players and our go-to guy," Texans quarterback Matt Schaub said, according to the Texans. “It remains to be seen what the outcomes are going to be.”

Johnson said that Finnegan “kept doing little things” to frustrate him throughout the game.

“He was mad because we exchanged some words. He tried to quick jam me [on the play of the fight] because he thought I wasn’t looking," he added. “He snatched my helmet off and I snatched his off and it went from there.”


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