Ed Reed To Hines Ward: "You're A Dirty Player"

Interviewed at a football camp at Franklin High School in my home town of Reisterstown, Maryland, Baltimore Ravens free safety Ed Reed reiterated what he once said to Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. His quote, according to the story by Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times, was:

"You have those guys out there, I've talked about them before, there's certain rules out there, the Hines Ward rules, where you're hitting people with the crown of your helmet. That's the truth about it. I love Hines as a player and I told him that. But I told him also for a long time, ‘You're a dirty player because I know how you play.'

Ed went on to say he's held up on hitting players when he knew he could, strictly because he didn't want to unnecessarily injure them. His issue with Ward is that Hines uses the crown of his helmet to cross the line between a clean and a dirty hit. Not too many Ravens fans would disagree with Reed's assessment, while Steelers fans stand behind their star receiver, now dealing with a recent DUI on top of these comments.