The NFL's collective bargaining agreement talks are pitting player-against-player now and our own Matt Hasselbeck is in the middle. New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie, never one to shy away from controversy, and Hasselbeck got into a war of words this morning, started when Hasselbeck posed a sarcastic question on Twitter. It all began when the Seahawks quarterback tweeted "Someone ask Cromartie if he knows what CBA stands for." The tweet was quickly deleted after, but the damage was done.
Cromartie answered back later, threatening Hasselbeck directly. Here's the tweet:
@Hasselbeck hey Matt if u have something to then say it be a man about it. Don't erase it. I will smash ur face in.
Antonio Cromartie
A_Cromartie31
TWITTER FIGHT! I'm also not ashamed to say I'm more than a little jealous Cromartie is tweeting those fighting words from an iPad. Baller status.
Let's back up a moment and figure out how this all started. Cromartie called out the NFL Players' Association on Thursday, criticizing the union's negotiations and fight against a lockout. While most players have let the union work, Cromartie went public trying to push negotiations along himself -- and was criticized by many others, including Darnell Dockett and Ray Lewis.
Hasselbeck joined the cries for Cromartie to shut his mouth, but did it in a sarcastic, joking manner. Clearly Cromartie wasn't fond of it, but at least he didn't do Hasselbeck like he did Tom Brady ahead of the Jets-Patriots matchup.
The big loser in all this? The union. Players need to put on a unified front, and this isn't helping at all. As the owners are all unified and fighting for what they want, the players are showing cracks -- a bad sign of things to come. If a deal cannot get done -- and done soon -- we're looking at a real possibility of a year without football.
As for Hasselbeck, I wouldn't worry. Cromartie has to catch him before he does any smashing. Judging by how many times Cromartie lost his jock on the field this year, that won't be a problem. Throw a little jab step, give him a little shake and watch him fall.