Visanthe Shiancoe and Darren Sharper have called a ceasefire in their Twitter trash-talk war.
Shiancoe, the Minnesota Vikings' tight end, and Sharper, the New Orleans Saints' safety, both said Friday that they planned to curb their online banter, which has made headlines over the past two weeks.
"I said what I had to say, and I'm done with that for a little bit," Shiancoe told the *Star Tribune*. "We'll see what happens in the future, though. You'll never know what will re-invent itself in the future. Stay tuned."
Sharper revealed that Saints coach Sean Payton had "a few words for me" and "asked me to tone it down," according to the Times-Picayune.
"I'm done with that," said Sharper, who befriended Shiancoe in Minnesota before leaving for New Orleans last season.
"I think they got a pretty good relationship, and I'm sure in the beginning it was something that was fairly harmless in how they approached it," Payton said. "That being said, it is something that once you decide to tweet anything, it's just like we are standing here -- just picture 100,000 more people. That's the way they have to approach it, and that's the way our team has to approach it. And regardless of who it is or what position they play, it's just not something that we endorse, certainly."
Shiancoe told the *St. Paul Pioneer Press* on Thursday that he and Sharper really aren't mad at each other and the back-and-forth is all in good fun. On Friday, Shiancoe blamed the former teammates' competitive nature for the Twitter trash talk escalating.
"That's my boy. But at the same time, we're very, very, very extremely competitive guys," Shiancoe said. "He was my locker mate for three years, so we know each other well. We hang out and things of that nature."
The latest exchange began Tuesday after some Vikings visited the Minnesota National Guard. Shiancoe posted a photo of a target used for shooting practice. The target had a picture of Osama Bin Laden saying, "I'm Darren Sharper," with the safety's No. 42 on his chest.
"Before target practice a soldier suggested a custom target for me," Shiancoe tweeted before posting the picture. "Guess he wanted to start my engine early for the SAINTS game!"
Sharper seemed to take exception.
"Ok homeboy you done went too far, making me out to be something that has brought this country alot of heartache," Sharper tweeted Wednesday. "Imma bust you right under your chinstrap from the first play on. I don't care about the fine. ... Imma do it for the red, white & blue."
"And you'll see me cuz I'll be dressed in black & gold," Sharper tweeted. "Protect your neck that's all the warning you get."
According to the Pioneer Press, Shiancoe responded on Twitter that Sharper's words were "the epitome of a crooked politician have some class 'homeboy.'"
When asked Friday if the exchanges had gone too far, Sharper said: "I know I'm not what was pictured in that picture, and I didn't like seeing that too much. ... We'll see come first game how much friends we are."
As for how he uses his Twitter site going forward, Sharper said, "I'll save my tweets for positive information -- I'm doing well today ... the sun is shining -- things of that nature."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
