DALLAS – Desmond Howard and Phil Simms were reportedly involved in a near physical altercation at the NFL Experience in Dallas.
Howard tweeted that Simms approached and threatened him because the ESPN analyst said his son, Matt, was one of the worst quarterbacks in the SEC.
“I am DEAD serious about the Phil Simms thing,” Howard tweeted. “We all thought he was joking, but he kept going and said he wanted 2 take a swing at me!! It ended w/police stepping in between so I could continue my appearance w/fans.”
SportsByBrooks.com reports this isn’t the first time Simms has been overprotective of his children:
In 2005, ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown’s Steve Young said of then-Tampa Bay quarterback Chris Simms:
“I worry about his mental toughness. His dad was one of the greatest at being tough and handling all the criticisms. I worry that he grew up in a much different atmosphere, laissez-faire kind of atmosphere. And I’m worried that he doesn’t have the mental toughness to deal with the information overload that comes with the NFL. Until I see that week after week, like last week, I’m still not a believer.”
The next day on a conference call with the media, Simms said of Young’s comments:
“You know, Steve, follow football more than one day a week and you might know some of these answers. There’s one thing I know my son doesn’t lack is toughness. And he didn’t grow up in a laissez-faire atmosphere. Far from it. Come to my house, live with me, and let’s see how laissez-faire it is. I don’t know how Steve Young lives his life, but I don’t live mine that way. And I didn’t raise my kids that way.
“You can say whatever you want about my son, but one thing that’ll get me mad, and I’ll stand in your face about it, is about toughness. Who the hell can be tougher than him, physically or what he endures?”
Young later called Simms to express regret for making comments about his son’s upbringing.