I just watched a segment on Inside the NFL on Bill Romanowski’s punch to the face of Raiders teammate Marcus Williams. The unexpected hit over a trivial slight (if that) during practice shattered Williams’ eye socket — and ultimately ended his career. From what I could tell, Romanowski outright lied about the incident in his new tell-all book, so as to make himself look not so bad. (Honestly, I’m so glad that Inside the NFL discussed that issue from that perspective, rather than just oohing and aahing over the revelations in the book.)

In his interview for the segment, Romanowski came across as a seriously creepy and dangerous guy. He was self-controlled in an evasive, repressed kind of way. And his behavior on the field shows a strong enjoyment of inflicting pain and suffering upon others. Honestly, I feared for the life of the woman interviewer when she asked him some pointed questions. The contrast with the friendly, likable, and normal person of Marcus Williams was particularly striking.

After the segment, the four hosts discussed it for a time, as usual. Chris Carter, an upright and honorable man, got so disgusted merely talking about Romo’s dirty play that he flat out refused to discuss the matter further. It’s hardly surprising: Romanowski used to tell Carter at the beginning of games that he’d kill him — or at least hurt him so bad he’d end his career.

Blech.