Indianapolis Colts linebacker Erik Walden ripped the helmet off of Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker and then delivered a head butt to Walker during the Colts' 30-27 Week 11 victory in the teams' Thursday Night Football game, and Walker was vocal about the incident following the game.
"What got him riled up? I was whupping his butt, that's what happened, and the cat couldn't take it when he was getting whupped,'' Walker said, per The Tennessean. "He got frustrated, and he should have been ejected for what he did. That's bush league and that's the type of stuff we don't need in this league."
A video of the head butt can be viewed here.
Walker shredded the Indianapolis defense on his way to garnering a career-high 10 receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown.
When they were getting heated, Walker threw a punch towards Walden, but he wasn't looking to try and hide it after the game as he admitted to the media that he got heated and threw a punch.
"I threw a punch at him; I'm not going to lie about that. It's on film," Walker said via NFL.com. "But that was just a reaction. You head butt me in the face because I am beating you? C'mon ... I whupped on him the whole game, and I'm going to whup on him again in two weeks."
Walden wasn't ejected on the play, however he was flagged for a personal foul penalty for ripping off Walker's helmet. NFL.com reports that Walden will likely receive a hefty fine from the NFL as the league continues to try to cut down on post-whistle skirmishes that grow in frequency and intensity from week-to-week throughout the season.
Walden's penalty came during a string of three straight personal foul calls against the Colts at a time where they were struggling in the game. Walden took responsibility for his actions after the game.
"It was a selfish act," Walden said, per ESPN.com. "It could have cost my team bigger than I did. I lost my composure. It's something that can't happen. It wasn't really something he did, it was ticky-tack. I can't allow myself to take it that far."
The Colts improved to 6-2 with the win while the Titans fell to 3-5. The teams meet again in Week 13--this time in Indianapolis--on Dec. 1, and the question lingers as to whether or not the bad blood will spill over.
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