Brandon Meriweather To Brandon Marshall: At Least I Don't Hit Women

Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather is back at practice after serving his one-game suspension for, among other things, a late hit on Bears receiver Brandon Marshall. Marshall had strong words for Meriweather after the game. Today, Meriweather fires right back, and goes personal.

After the game in which Meriweather drew two personal fouls for leading with his helmet, Marshall said this:

"Guys like that really don’t understand that there is life after football. I respect the league trying to better our game and guys like that, maybe he needs to get suspended or taken out of the game completely."

And here's Meriweather today:

"Listen, everybody’s got their opinion of things, you know. Everybody’s got their opinion. He feels like, you know, 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.

"You tell me who you’d rather have: Somebody who plays aggressive on the field, or somebody who beats up their girlfriend. Everybody’s got their opinion. That’s mine. He’s got his."

In 2009, Marshall was found not guilty of two counts of simple battery stemming from a March 2008 incident with then-girlfriend Rasheedah Watley, and had been arrested but not charged for a separate incident. Earlier this year, a lawsuit brought by Watley alleging abuse was dismissed.

Surprisingly salty from Meriweather, who reached out to Marshall last week to try to clear the air between the two.

But Meriweather wasn't done. He criticized the NFL's rules cracking down on high hits ( "I've never heard of a defenseless running back") and echoed what other defenders have been murmuring—that the emphasis on safety is creating a "low-hit culture," where players are encouraged to go for a ballcarrier's knees.

"I guess I’ve just got to take people’s knees out," he said. "That’s the only way…I’d hate to end a guy’s career, you know, over a rule. But I guess it’s better other people than me getting suspended for longer.

"To be honest, man, you’ve just got to go low now. You’ve got to end people’s careers, you know? You’ve got to tear people’s ACLs and mess up people’s knees now. You can’t hit them high no more. You’ve just got to go low."

Can Brandon Meriweather get fined for taking out a receiver's kneecap with his helmet? Tune in next week.

Meriweather has strong words for Bears WR Marshall [Richmond Times-Dispatch]