Charlotte, N.C. ? When Carolina Panthers center Justin Hartwig saw last Sunday’s tape of a Tennessee Titans player stomping on the exposed head of Dallas center Andre Gurode, he was shocked.
When he realized it was defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, though, he wasn’t surprised at all.
“Obviously it was a really shocking deal,” said Hartwig, a Kansas University product. “It was unimaginable for a football player to do that to another football player, but knowing Albert and what he’s done in the past, it didn’t surprise me at all.”
Hartwig was Haynesworth’s Titans teammate for the past four seasons before Hartwig signed as a free agent with Carolina.
“He’s a guy that isn’t in very good control of his emotions,” Hartwig said. “When he’s getting beat he tends to lose control of his emotions and he gets irrational and he doesn’t think straight.”
Hartwig, who returned to practice Wednesday after missing three games because of a groin injury, experienced that first-hand.
“Yeah, it was at the beginning of training camp my second year,” he said. “I was blocking him during a pass-rush drill and he was bull-rushing me, and when he let up I dropped to my knees and he reared back and kicked me in the chest.”
Haynesworth was suspended for five games by the league for his actions Sunday, but Hartwig isn’t certain the penalty was stiff enough.
“It’s the most intentional thing I’ve ever seen to try and hurt someone,” Hartwig said. “That crosses every sports and moral boundary you can think of. I think that five games is probably the minimum they should have suspended him.”
Haynesworth has apologized to Gurode, who needed 30 stitches to close his wounds. And Hartwig hopes his former teammate learns from all this.
“His contract is up after the year and I’m not so sure he’s a guy they want to keep around,” Hartwig said. “I guess that’s a decision they will have to make.”
