Washington Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather announced his return from a one-game suspension Monday with an emotional salvo directed at Chicago Bears receiver Brandon Marshall and the league's rules on hitting.
DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, said Thursday that Meriweather has apologized for his remarks.
"I spoke to Brandon. He is passionate about the game, and I know he is sorry for what he said," Smith said in a statement. "He is concentrating on helping his team win the rest of the season. Brandon knows that all players have a responsibility to each other and to play within the rules of the game."
The two-time Pro Bowl player was irked by Marshall, who insisted Meriweather should be banned from the league for repeated helmet-to-helmet hits. Meriweather was suspended for illegal hits against Chicago, and one of those blows came at Marshall's expense.
"He feels like I need to be kicked out of the league, I feel like people who beat their girlfriends should be kicked out of the league, too," Meriweather said earlier this week. "You tell me who you'd rather have? Someone who plays aggressive on the field or someone who beat up their girlfriend?"
The hard-hitting defensive back also took on the league.
"I guess I just got to take people's knees out," Meriweather said. "That's the only way. I would hate to end a guy's career over a rule, but I guess it's better other people than me getting suspended for longer. You just have to go low now, man. You've got to end people's careers. You got to tear people's ACLs and mess up people's knees. You can't hit them high anymore."
Meriweather originally was slapped with a two-game suspension, but the ban was reduced to one game following an appeal. His first game back comes Sunday against theChargers.
