NFLVideo

Antonio Smith Says Richie Incognito Tried To Intentionally Break His Ankle On This Play (Video)

Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito has a reputation as a bit of a dirty player.

He was the team’s most penalized player in 2011, but his issues with extracurricular shenanigans date back to his days at Nebraska, where he was suspended from the football team for various disciplinary issues (his three assault charges stemming from a university party in 2004 are batched into those “disciplinary issues”).

And after Sunday’s season opener against the Texans, Incognito was allegedly up to his old tricks. Houston defensive lineman Antonio Smith told reporters after the game:

“A dirty player being let to play dirty … Ricky Incognito. Everything that’s illegal that can be done on the football field he does it, but mainly he was hitting people after the play, sliding down on your leg grabbing your ankle and trying to twist to break your ankle and he was doing it right in front of the referees and he was still in the game.”

There’s video of the alleged attempted ankle breaking in question, and it occurs in the second quarter. Following a Miami fumble, Incognito can be seen clutching Smith’s leg, with Smith repeatedly attempting to kick Incognito off of him. The two players can be seen at the top center for most of the video.

The video is obviously inconclusive, and Incognito tells Pro Football Talk — through direct messages on Twitter — that he was merely trying to keep Smith from getting to the fumble.

Once the ball was fumbled I grabbed his legs to stop him from recovering the fumble. It’s clear that I wrap my arms around both his legs. I was trying to keep him from scrambling to the ball.

Based on Incognito’s past transgressions — he’s been labeled dirty by other players for a few years now — we’d have to take Smith’s word for it. And Smith could take solace in the fact that things could be worse: he could be at the bottom of a pile, getting his testicles squeezed by Mike Vrabel.

Follow Dan Fogarty