Williams trial opens with vivid account
OAKLAND, Calif. – Former Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski ended Marcus Williams’ NFL career two years ago when he ripped off his teammate’s helmet and punched the second-year tight end in the face during a practice drill, Williams’ attorney told a jury Tuesday.
During opening statements in the trial of Williams’ multimillion dollar lawsuit against Romanowski, lawyer James Brosnahan said the linebacker struck Williams with such force that it broke the tight end’s left eye socket with a “sickening sound” that could be heard 15 yards away.
“This case is about brutal violence beyond the rules of football,” Brosnahan said.
Williams, who earned $300,000 a season with the Raiders, is seeking damages of $3.8 million for alleged battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The blow he took Aug. 24, 2003, also injured his brain. His football career ended at age 27.
His attorney spent much of his 90-minute opening statement showing video highlights of Williams’ football career, starting with his days at Berkeley (Calif.) High School, continuing through his college years at Washington State University and culminating with his brief time with the Raiders.
Romanowski’s lawyer, Jeffrey Springer, told jurors that Williams wasn’t attacked from behind but actively engaged in a fight with his teammate. Springer also suggested that Williams’ lawsuit was motivated by money, and that Williams deliberately undermined cognitive tests done to gauge the extent of his brain injury by smoking marijuana.
The attack occurred after Williams blocked Romanowski during an early-season practice. After the play, Romanowski came up to Williams from behind, tore off his teammate’s helmet and socked him.
Romanowski, known for fanatical behavior during his 16 NFL seasons, apologized after the altercation.
“I hold myself accountable,” Romanowski said afterward. “It was a classless move by me.”
Williams wasn’t satisfied and filed the civil lawsuit. The case will focus on the consequences of Romanowski’s actions on Williams’ career.
Potential witnesses include Romanowski’s former teammates, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott, former Raiders coach Bill Callahan and Williams’ agent, Lee Kolligian.
Attorneys for Romanowski have asked the Raiders to pay for any damages the jury awards. “We’re not responsible for what he did,” Raiders attorney Jeff Birren said in a telephone interview.
Cases in which professional sports teammates file a lawsuit against each other are rare.
“I did not find a situation where one teammate has injured another teammate during a practice in this way,” Brosnahan said after the original complaint was filed. “And for good reason. Teammates have to treat each other with respect.”
Romanowski, 38, released by the Raiders last March after failing a physical, has a long history of scrapes with opponents and others. One of his more well-publicized incidents came in December 1997, when he spit in the face of San Francisco 49ers receiver J.J. Stokes while playing for Denver in a nationally televised game.